Proditione et Fide
by Curious Beats
Summary: The gods are fading. The population of demigods is at an all time low after the giant war, and the gods have been weakened. Percy has once again been given a quest to save the gods; conquer the mortal world, to gain back the gods their former glory. If he gets a crown shoved on to him in the meantime, well, that's of secondary importance.
1. Chapter I: A Beginning

**Beta'd by VCRx & PraetorFable**

 **Chapter I: A Beginning**

 _ **The Fifth of April**_

Percy swung a blow at his opponent's mid section, but it was dodged. He tried to press the offensive, but his adversary was too quick, returning Percy's swing with a jab at his neck. Leaning back as far as he dared, Percy narrowly evaded the jab, but offset his balance. Percy narrowly parried the incoming blow at his upper torso to his left, before dancing to his right and swinging as quick and hard as he could manage with the fatigue that had seeped in him after the hours of nonstop fighting. Finally decapitating his imaginary opponent, he stepped away, leaning on his knees and breathing heavily.

Hearing someone approaching from behind him, he straightened himself, and turned around. Before him was a camper in full armor.

One of the newer ones.

Snapping him a stiff salute which Percy halfheartedly returned, the camper considered that as permission to speak.

"Sir, your presence is requested at HQ," the camper reported, standing still at attention.

Dismissing the kid with a silent wave of the hand, Percy capped Riptide, sighing, and started making his way towards the big house.

After the defeat of Gaea, the largest problem that the two camps faced was how to prevent war from breaking out between them. There had already been a fair bit of animosity on either side because of 'miscommunications', so dealing with each other peacefully would be another insurmountable challenge for the demigods of this generation. A trope Percy was very much so beginning to tire of.

Thankfully, the leadership of the two camps were able to work through it. Both Percy and Jason played large roles in the peaceful end to the millennia long rivalry between the two sides of the same coin. The extent of the agreement was the best they could have hoped for. It was simply an agreement for peace. There was an unofficial added stipulation to accept demigods on quests, and to allow demigods in need to take up residence in the other camp. They couldn't manage to make it official, with the senate turning down something so vague, and the Greek populace generally not wanting Romans around.

Not that the feeling wasn't mutual.

Of course, now that the Romans were revealed to the Greeks, the gods saw no reason not to make Camp Half-Blood more like New Rome. That is, a more militaristic fashioned camp, rather than the simple summer camp Percy had grew up knowing. Surprisingly, the new campers loved the idea. And since the gods wanted it to happen, unfortunately, it happened.

Then there was the matter of designations. Although the other kids weren't, Percy had grown used to being called 'Your Highness' and various other titles while he was talking to fish and horses and whenever he ventured into his father's domain. Now, the older campers and counselors were to be addressed with honorifics: Even when they weren't on duty. With how much they had changed, he wasn't sure the Olympian council as a whole had so much as glanced at Camp Half-Blood in millennia.

Be that as it may, he stepped in to the big house, or 'Headquarters' now. Because of course everything needed a more formalized designation. Entering the war room, he observed his friends hunched over a table, which of course replaced their ping-pong table, looking at various maps of urban New York.

Frowning, he stepped further into the room, drawing the attention of the room's occupants. The Roman liaison immediately snapped to attention, giving a quick salute. When the cabin councillors did not do the same, the liaison began to glare. Getting over their frustration, the rest of the councillors sluggishly moved to 'attention', which was essentially them standing straight up and looking at him. Giving a dismissal wave at the formalities which he so loathed, he moved to take a seat at his place at the table, which had been moved to the head of the table where the Supreme Commander of Olympian Forces was meant to sit.

Of course the gods needed a title so flamboyant, and then decided to give it to him of all people.

Finally sitting down and being joined by those in attendance (seven of the councillors and the Roman liaison), he stared at the map in front of him.

"So what's all this about?" Percy inquired, waving a hand at the map.

It was his girlfriend that responded. "Updated maps of New York City. The gods want us to make plans for an invasion," she finished, spitting the words out like they were poison.

He could understand why. The last time they had to defend New York hadn't exactly been a great experience.

"What do they think will try to attack them this time?" he grumbled, eyes surveying the war pieces that scattered the outer New York metro.

After a moment of silence, he looked up to find everyone avoiding his eyes. Perplexed, his gaze met that of the one person who wasn't avoiding it.

The Roman liaison swallowed. "Ah, sir. They don't want us to plan to defend it… They want us to plan to invade it. Take it from the mortals, that is."

Percy blinked. And then blinked again, and then figured he misheard, so he asked again. "Come again?"

The kid swallowed again. "Well, ah, far be it from me to assume the intentions of the gods, but I believe they want to solidify their power base. To invade New York City and secure Olympus."

What?

He had to be kidding, right? Fighting mortals? Invading _New York?_ That was just ridiculous. The gods weren't _that_ insane, were they? Immediately after the two biggest wars they had ever fought right in a row, they go and reveal themselves to the world, and start invading _mortal cities?_ That was just ridiculous. He grumbled out a quick "I'll be back", before moving upstairs to the big house restroom.

Opening the window as far as he could, he turned on the sink, manipulating the water to turn into a fine mist in front of the window.

Altering the density of the mist until he got the best rainbow he could, he threw a drachma into the rainbow. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Zeus on Olympus," he chanted.

After a few seconds when nothing happened, he began to wonder what the hold up was. A voice came from the rainbow. "It does not seem His Majesty is on Olympus at the moment. Would you like to try another location?" Iris finished..

He frowned. If Zeus wasn't on Olympus, he wasn't on duty, and was likely out enjoying his immortal life. Despite him having the prestige to be able to up and call Zeus without any obvious repercussions, not even he would call Zeus when he was off duty without a second thought. Reconsidering he called back.

"No, just show me Poseidon, in Atlantis," he decided.

Shimmering, the scene of his father sitting on his throne and addressing a member of his court appeared. Waiting patiently, Percy stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. If he had to pay another drachma to extend the time, he was charging his dad. After a few minutes when his father was done addressing the member of his court, he dismissed his court, obviously noticing his son standing impatiently through the rainbow in front of him.

Turning to the rainbow, his dad smiled. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Percy!" he exclaimed happily, though there was most certainly an air of nervousness around him. "How can I help you, my son?" he asked.

Percy stared back, unamused.

"This plan to invade New York, how much did you have to do with it," he demanded.

His father sighed. "Not much" he confessed. "I honestly was in favor of the plan, until I remembered your connection to the mortals, and how you would view this. I admit, I did not oppose it, but I did not vote for it either."

Percy brooded silently for a moment.

"Why?" he finally said. That was the one question that stood above all.

His dad glanced at the ground. A moment of silence passed between them. "We have grown weak, Perseus."

It sent a jolt through Percy's spine. The gods, were they weaker than in their hayday? He had no doubt. But that wasn't what disturbed him. What disturbed him was that his father was _admitting_ it. Gods weren't supposed to do that. They weren't supposed to think of themselves as anything less than omnipotent.

His father continued. "I'm sure you've learned this at your camp, but the gods derive power from your worship. It's why we have children. Despite your perception that we only have children to use them as tools, it's simply not true. We may have a quest we actually need getting done once in a millennium. The rest? They're to make our kids feel important. The reason we have kids is so that we have mortals to worship us. To acknowledge our existence. To love or fear us."

His dad, sat there, as if waiting for his son to connect the dots. But he already had. And he really, _really_ didn't like it.

"You already know why we need to invade New York, Percy. We have more chaos, stress, and pain for gods and demigods than we've had in many millennia barring the two wars which you just fought. We are the weakest we can be right now. So close to fading it is pathetic. With New York City alone, we'll have more worshippers than we ever had back in Greece. We need to recover from the wars, and quick. This is the only way we can do that. Our hands have been forced." Poseidon finished his spiel.

As he was about to reply, Iris interrupted. "Time exceeded. To continue, please deposit a drachma." Gritting his teeth in frustration, he dug his hand into his pocket and pulled another drachma out, throwing it into the mist and watching as his father's face reappeared. His mind went back to the conversation. He was at a dead end here. He could understand the god's reasoning. That their hands had been forced. But that didn't even slightly justify invading a city of almost nine million people. He had some questions.

"What about the militarization of camp. Is that to stop you from fading somehow? Or is it to make us an army so that we can start invading places for you?" Percy asked. "And what about the Romans? They're already militarized. I'm sure they would be happy to invade a city for you."

His father took a moment to respond. "Yes. The militarization was, in part, so that you would be a more effective army. But that's not the only reason. It's the same reason that we have had demigods start to be addressed by their titles while not in a military. You see Percy, when the gods get weaker, so do you. This applies to the gods as well. When your parent is worshipped more, is recognized as powerful, then you will become more powerful as well. If you take New York, all of the city will undoubtedly recognize the legitimacy of the gods, along with billions around the world. The amount of worship and acknowledgement that we will receive will be far more than ever before. This will make us nigh omnipotent. When we ascend to omnipotence, our children, you, will ascend to near deity status. A single rogue demigod could wipe out a large city like you can now. A powerful one, such as yourself? A nation. A rank and nobility structure being imposed upon you, the mortals, by the gods, will help to keep all demigods in line. During the battle of Manhattan, you could not even keep all of your cabins in line. A situation like that would not be tolerable."

"And the Romans?" He asked. As much as he hated to admit it, Percy was beginning to see the reason behind the actions of the gods. Almost as an afterthought, he added. "And what about the civilians in New York? How will they be treated?"

His father actually had the audacity to smile, "The city will be placed under military occupation."

Percy's immediate reaction was anger. The people of New York didn't deserve to have their lives halted because of this. He could imagine it now. A group of a few hundred teenagers, likely with the help of some spirits and cyclops, occupying a city. What would they do? Wait.

 _Wait._

He suddenly came to a realization.

Laughing, he thanked his dad, before waving his hand through the Iris message, not even realizing his other question had not been answered. He would call him back later if he thought of anything else.

Though still slightly upset, he was in a considerably better mood coming back downstairs, until he heard the clattering of chairs upon him entering the room. He found the newly arrived Hephaestus councillor that replaced Leo and the Roman standing at attention. Sending them both a wolf glare before the rest could be bothered to get up, he sat down back in his chair. Everyone at the table was looking at him expectantly.

"I spoke to my father. While I cannot tell you why, I can assure you the gods have their reasons for this invasion."

He didn't tell them partly because he wasn't sure if they'd get it, and partly because he wasn't sure he was allowed to tell them without getting executed for treason.

Some of them took his word for it, and didn't really seem bothered anymore, others however grew even more skeptical, wanting to trust him but not being able to, and some, like Annabeth shooting him a look right now, wanted answers privately later.

"So," he started, "What's our order of battle?" Annabeth glaring at him for doing what used to basically be her job, answered.

"We have been granted ten thousand cyclops by His Majesty Poseidon for after we take the city, to assist with occupation, as well as the estimated twelve thousand nature spirits inside New York. The wind spirits around Olympus will be working overtime and eliminating any hostile air assets. Expanding past Manhattan, which is where the primary assault should begin, will have to mainly be accomplished based on our reputation, and limited strike groups to incapacitate enemy squads and platoons before attempting negotiation. While our armor is nearly invincible to anything they can throw at us, and our metal can slice through anything of theirs like butter, we still have weak spots in our armor, and need to get up close to do any real damage. On the commencement of the assault the mist will be dispelled, mortals will once again rejoin the realm of the gods, and celestial bronze will affect them. Our early on challenge will be the Manhattan police, but we should be able to eliminate them as a threat before making our invasion known. This should eliminate most of the threat they po-" she was cut off by the conch horn in the background.

Percy grunted in annoyance, but he didn't want to hold everyone from their lunch. "Go to lunch everyone, we'll continue this today after classes are concluded."

Staying behind, he waited for everyone to filter out of the room until it was just him and Annabeth. Sighing he leaned back in the wooden chair he was sitting in, just now noticing he was still wearing his armor from his training.

His girlfriend leaned forward onto the table, intensely staring at him.

"So?" she asked. "What's the reason?"

He sighed. He really didn't want to get in to it right now, especially when he wasn't sure of _his_ views on the situation.

"Let's just go have lunch," he tried.

She kept staring at him.

"Fine." He caved, "The gods are weak after the wars. Since they run off of worship, they say they need more. In fact, a lot more, to keep from fading into obscurity, having their power decreased to pitiful levels, or just straight up fading."

"That doesn't give them the right to-"

He cut her off, "I know 'Beth, and I'll do everything to try and make sure the mortals lives are disrupted as little as possible, but we don't need to discuss this right now." he finished, pleading with her to let it go.

She looked like she still wanted to debate it, but seemed to sense he wasn't doing great right now and backed off.

"Alright," she conceded, although her tone said otherwise.

Pinching her cheek, he dodged out of the room before she could smack him, laughing all the way.

As he made his way to the mess area, he recalled why it now had a giant white tent over it. Since the gigantomachy ended a couple months ago, the gods had been, as previously stated, weak. Due to this, even something as simple as weather control was no longer guaranteed at the camp, much less the prevention of monster attacks (hence guard duty). Because of this, there was a precautionary tent put up over the mess area.

Annabeth soon made her way to is side, and he quickly braced himself for the hit to his bicep that, as he predicted, came very shortly after, and smiled. Things were slightly looking up at least. At least he had a reason for all of the hoops he had had to jump through for the last day or so, and a reasonable one at that.

As he ducked into the mess hall with his girlfriend right behind him, he heard the clattering of chairs, and looked up to see the entire camp at attention, saluting.

He grit his teeth in annoyance.

Maybe things weren't looking up as much as he thought.


	2. Chapter II: An Oath

**Beta'd by VCRx & PraetorFable**

 **Chapter II: An Oath**

 _ **The Sixth of April**_

 _ **One Month Before the Invasion of Manhattan**_

Rubbing his eyes, Percy swung himself out of bed. Feeling the cold wooden floor under his feet, he groggily made his way over to his bathroom. Yesterday had been eventful, to say the least. After the plans for their invasion of New York had been finalized (He still couldn't believe he was actually going through with the damn thing), he had a private conversation with multiple councillors, including Annabeth, about the morals of invading a city. He thought of those that had still been adamantly against the plan.

He remembered the look on Travis' face when the boy told him that he had changed, and the look on Connor's when Percy asked him if he thought the same. As he finished brushing his teeth he remembered the tears that Katie had shed into his shirt as he tried to comfort her. Throwing on a CHB shirt and some shorts he walked out into the cold brisk air. Going places was now an event, even as early as five in the morning. Even just walking to the beach to start his run he attracted stares from the few that were awake that early.

He liked to run early in the day. It helped, being able to think of everything in the morning rather than letting it keep him up every night. Not only did it let him think, but it got him awake quick, something he often struggled with.

After he finished jogging the perimeter of the camp making sure the guards were remaining vigilant, he noticed the increased activity in the camp along with the ever so faint peak of sunlight on the horizon. Making up his mind, he decided to jog over to the arena.

The arena was a hotspot for those looking to improve themselves. Well, that and workaholics. Entering the arena with the slightest bit of sweat visible through his shirt, he walked over to a practice dummy and began his routine.

About an hour later he got deja vu as a newer camper approached him. Already knowing what the kid was going to say, he let the guard tell him that he was needed at "Headquarters" before moving past him towards the big house.

Entering through the two doors at the front of the house and making his way into the war room, he noticed that when he entered, the cabin councillors were slightly less reluctant to stand up. Just as before, the Roman liaison and Leo's replacement, who was actually here this time, snapped to attention. He shot them a glare, and they quickly got the drift.

Sitting down at the head of the table, he looked over the maps of New York they had laid out.

He frowned, still not satisfied with the plan.

Any death for this plan of theirs would be a tragedy. It seemed, however, necessary, despite how much he cursed himself for that sentiment.

He knew that even if he didn't go along with this plan, someone else would, and more people would just end up dead or suffering. He didn't want this plan to go through, but if it was going to happen anyway, he had to take the opportunity to control it.

He looked up at everyone else sitting at the table. Everyone was wearing the same morose expression. He imagined he wore a very similar look on his face.

"Well, everyone. You know your jobs. Get to preparing and briefing your groups," he spoke. He looked around, trying to find the darkest corner in the room, before addressing it. "Nico, your preparations start in two weeks, on the twentieth. For everyone else, we'll be invading Manhattan in exactly one month, on the sixth of May. You have that much time to prepare. Remember, not everyone in this camp has seen battle. Keep morale high, and blood lust low." He shot a glance at Clarisse with the last part, to which she rolled her eyes in response.

Standing up, he again addressed everyone at the table. "The announcement will be made today at lunch. Classes will be cancelled for the rest of the day, so it's your time to get to know the people under your command before you work the hell out of them for the next month. Go, and good luck," he finished, turning around and walking out of the room, fully expecting Annabeth to follow him.

He needed to talk to his mentor anyway, and it didn't necessarily need to be a private conversation. It was about the invasion, after all, and Annabeth had practically written up the entire thing.

Reaching the oak door at the end of the hallway, he rapped on the door, before putting his ear to it, awaiting a response.

"Come in," sounded from the other side of the door, and he walked in to find his mentor sitting behind a desk, filing some paperwork for the camp.

Chiron motioned with his hand for Percy to sit in the chair opposite his desk. Following the suggestion, he let himself sink into the comfy chair.

Chiron looked at him "So, what can I do for you, my boy?" he asked with a smile.

Percy sent back a grim smile. "So, as you are aware, we will be heading out to Manhattan in a month," he began, as his mentor just gave him a patient smile with a hint of worry to it, as though he had an inkling of an idea of what the conversation would be about.

Percy decided to get it out. "The gods have decided that every demigod of the age twelve and older will be participating. Volunteers or not."

He pursed his lips. Forcing twelve-year-olds into service to save the gods had an eerily familiar tone to it. He had known ahead of time that the gods were serious in their plans to become more powerful, but to conscript prepubescents into a military to fight against the most powerful mortal fighting force the planet had so far seen was just cruel.

Chiron seemed to understand the situation and seemed to age before him.

"I see," he muttered, nearly so quiet that Percy could not hear him. They sat in silence for a few seconds.

Percy was about to continue speaking about what that would mean for life at camp, but before he could the door opened behind him. Already knowing who it was, he waited for her to sit down to his right before smiling at her "What took you so long?" he asked playfully.

She glared back at him, though there was no heat behind it. Annabeth was about to start reprimanding him for leaving her in the war room before Chiron cleared his throat.

Looking towards him, Percy could see he was amused at the intrusion, but figured he wanted to get the topic of discussion over with as quickly as possible.

"As we were discussing," he continued, "I see what that would mean for camp life here, I will do my best to make sure myself and others may…. Adjust."

"There's one more thing," Percy interjected. "The gods also have mandated that anyone under twelve that _wants_ to volunteer for the army may serve in non-combatant roles," he all but spat out.

Chiron seemed to age another millenium in front of his eyes. "I see," he repeated his earlier words.

Knowing his teacher needed some time alone, Percy stood up and dismissed himself with a nod. When he didn't hear footsteps following him, he looked back into the room to find Annabeth quietly conversing with Chiron. That was strange. He would have to figure out what that was about later.

 _ **The Twenty Eighth of April**_

 _ **Eight Days Before the Invasion of Manhattan**_

Percy found himself in Chiron's office once again, seated in the visitors chair while he was waiting for the centaur to arrive.

Percy reminisced as he sat there. He thought of when his largest problems were his math teacher being a crazy monster bat-lady or settling some beef with the Minotaur, but at least he wasn't in immediate danger.

He wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. Finally, there were no more threats. He could have settled down and lived a happy life, but the fates had other plans for him. The moment there was a glimpse of peace for Olympus or his own life, another conflict surfaced, and this time he was playing villain.

That was the most prominent conflict that waged within him for the past few weeks. How many innocent lives would have to be laid down for this? How many good people that were just protecting their families and the life they lived would be killed for this ambition? He always justified it though. What would the world be like without the gods? No seasons, no storms, no sickness, no death, no pain and no love. It would not be life, but a culmination of memories, not experiences.

So then he had carried on for weeks begrudgingly. Scouting out the Manhattan infrastructure network even more, helping to train new campers, and working with all the head councillors and their units.

That, in and of itself was a dilemma. They had not come up with a new name for the head councillors yet, or even a formal ranking system for the higher ups. He supposed that was his duty, but the councillors were the least likely to vye for a change from the old ways, including himself. But he had to admit that it did seem out of place with all the "Lord, Lady, Sir, and Your Highness" formalities flying about. He would have to fix that in the coming week before the battle.

He kept on marvelling at the rapid flow of campers that came in the last few weeks. He was now sure that the gods had not kept their promise in claiming all their children, and were only bringing them to camp as needed.

Chiron trotted into his office, shooting Percy a warm smile and moving to his side of the desk. Shooting a smile back, Percy watched as he sat down in his wheelchair. It was still a fascinating process to watch after nearly six years.

Chiron wasted no time. "I asked for you to meet with me because I feel you are in need of some advice," the kind old centaur spoke. "You have not dealt with politics before, least of all godly politics. You need to be informed of some harsh truths Percy."

Percy was a bit miffed at the subject. He _had_ been part of the Roman senate. He had even been a Praetor for a short amount of time. He had led Camp Half-Blood through two wars and had maneuvered around the Olympian Council for years, so what was it that Chiron thought he didn't have experience with?

"The gods have not been nearly as powerful as they were in ancient times. As I am sure you have already been told, a demigod's power comes almost entirely from the strength of their godly parent. This means that when gods become more powerful, so do their children. However, when these people, gods and demigods, become powerful, there has been a tendency that they become ambitious. You, however, will become more powerful with them, which in theory should keep any overly ambitious individuals in check."

"The dynamic starts to change, however," Chiron continued, "when mortals are added into the mix. With mortals and the full world at play, there will be too many variables for one person to effectively manage. I asked you here to warn you about the environment in which you are about to enter. You will need people you can trust. Allies, subordinates, whatever it may be, but you need to be sure that you are able to trust those people with complete confidence. This is more than your life at stake, my boy, it is the world: Both godly and mortal."

Percy just kinda sat there taking it all in.

He sort of understood what his mentor was getting at. More and more demigods, his friends or not, and even mortals could become ambitious enough to try to shape the world into their own design and advantage. He could bet a fair few of them were willing to do some horrible things to get to where they wanted.

Chiron wasn't entirely done, however. "Starting now, you must trust no one until you can be sure that their loyalties lay with only yourself, your vision, and the wellbeing of the majority. This includes Annabeth, the gods, and even myself. Everyone will have their own motives."

Now _that_ was a bit harder for Percy to swallow. He knew from experience that the gods would exploit anything and anyone including himself, for their own agenda - it was what he had been doing for years - but Annabeth? Chiron? This did not bode right with him, but if what Chiron was telling him was true, he knew he needed to take his advice seriously. He was shook simply at the implication of having Chiron or Annabeth being an obstacle to a better world, but he knew it was a possibility. Chiron might be too adamant about the protection of the campers to allow sacrifices to be made. He had proven time and time again that he would allow necessary sacrifices to be made but what would happen when he didn't consider them necessary?

And then, there was Annabeth. He knew her well, and he was sure together, they would be able to figure out and solve any problem. But he also knew that her fatal flaw could be dangerous in the upcoming circumstances. He trusted Annabeth to be self-conscious enough to keep herself in line as is, but he was unsure of how her self-control would translate if they would become more powerful. Could Annabeth rein in her ambitions for a new world? He thought of the time she'd tried to drown him, years back in the Sea of Monsters, chasing after a mirage of _her_ ideal New York. What if _that_ Annabeth returned? When Annabeth gets placed under a position where she _could_ go for that image, would she?

He needed to figure that out soon. He was ashamed to admit, he couldn't think of a single person that he wholeheartedly trusted to make the right decision at the end of the day.

He then mentally slapped himself for those thoughts. They were his friends after all. Annabeth was his girlfriend and he had to trust her. His friends were all good-hearted and had saved the world too. They wouldn't lose to themselves.

But Chiron's words continued to resonate in his head: Was it really possible his friends could change?

Chiron saw the conflict in his eyes. "Go, my boy. It is not a fate I would wish upon anyone, but once again, you must accomplish the impossible," he said with a sad smile.

Taking his advice, Percy nodded and stood up, before leaving Chiron's office deciding to make his way up to Half-Blood Hill. It was a place he would often go early in the morning to think, if he wasn't already at the arena or out for a run.

Climbing his way up the dew-covered hill, he tried focusing on the future. What he would be doing in just over a week? What would it mean for his life, his mom's life, and everyone he loved?

Reaching the apex of the hill, he turned around to look at the buildings of camp which were covered in fog. He seriously had to consider who to trust. He needed at least one person he could rely on, or he was sure to go mad. His girlfriend would normally be that person, but she had her own vision for the world. Even before they had any plans of interacting with the mortal world she had had aspirations beyond their tiny camp. Either way he was sure they would get through it together, he reassured himself. They always did. He had faith in her, and he knew she would control her hubris.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Nico materialized next to him.

"Preparations on my end are nearly complete. The infrastructure of Manhattan will be ours in a matter of days." he reported as they both gazed down into the valley.

Glancing to his left, he noticed his cousin was a little winded after his shadow travel. He fought the urge to raise an eyebrow. It was a problem that was specifically impacting the big three children. They could barely use their powers right now. He assumed that Nico had just come from summoning undead to occupy a drawbridge or something, and the shadow travel immediately after could not have helped. It was like Nico was fourteen again, tired with the slightest use of his powers.

Percy wasn't much better. He guessed he could raise a storm about the size of New York City and then be out for about a week. From his limited contact with Thalia, it seemed to be the same for her as well. He had even gone so far as to send an eagle to Jason and Hazel a week ago to make sure it wasn't just a Greek thing, but hadn't gotten a response back yet. It was the main reason, among others, that Nico's operations took days instead of minutes.

They were silent for a few moments.

"Do you trust me, Percy?" Nico suddenly asked. Percy, for one, was a bit startled by the nature of the question.

"Of course I trust you, Nico. What makes you ask that?" Percy wondered aloud.

"I overheard your conversation with Chiron," Nico admitted. "I want to be the one you can count on."

Percy blinked. He hadn't sensed Nico in the room, or just outside of it. Perhaps his powers really _were_ getting pathetically weak, or maybe he had let his guard down too much if Nico was able to listen in on the conversation. It was a mistake he would not repeat.

He didn't even have time to ponder Nico's proposition before his cousin continued speaking.

"You will need loyal allies Percy - no - loyal subordinates. Let me be one. I know when the dust settles and the betrayals and heartbreaks end, and all but one's ambitions have been crushed, that you will be on top whether you want to be or not. So let me be an extension of your will, at this early juncture. Let me be someone you can absolutely trust; to remove any dissent before it even starts."

Percy had kept his face stony throughout his thoughts. Thanks to his time with Lupa and the Romans, he'd learned to not have his heart on his sleeve.

Nico misunderstood his silence.

"I will swear myself to you, if that is what it takes," Nico declared, staring at the taller boy defiantly. Seeing Percy about to object, Nico narrowed his eyes now understanding why Percy had been quiet before now. He would not accept the new world he was entering, not even after his talk with Chiron. He would have to be forced to take allies.

It infuriated Nico. How someone so much more experienced than him, someone whom had once been his mentor, could be so ignorant to something that Nico himself found so obvious. There would be cutthroat politics that could get him killed, that was a fact. And so, Nico made up his mind on the spot.

Kneeling for propriety's sake, he felt a concentration of power wash over the area, and he was sure that Percy noticed it as well. So the gods _were_ watching. Nico sighed, he would have to make this even more formal than he had intended.

Bowing his head while kneeling before his soon to be liege, he drew his Stygian Iron sword out of the scabbard on his right side. As the Stygian Iron sword screeched against his scabbard, he could faintly hear Percy whispering 'Nico', almost in disbelief, as if begging him to reconsider.

Reconsider, he did. For all of a microsecond. Nico had never had any vision for the world. Not for demigods, not for anything. He had no real ambitions of his own. He did as he was told. He helped his father in the Underworld because his father wanted the his help. He helped with the wars mainly because that was what Percy had wanted him to do. He could finally make a choice in his life. A real choice that would change the world. And he was choosing to allow Percy to decide the fate of the planet. Who else than who it had rested with twice before? Who else than the one who had proven himself more selfless than any hero since the dawn of time immemorial? Who else than the only one on the earth he had come to know as a friend?

Nobody else.

And so, looking towards the ground, he held his sword against his sternum, the handle pointing outwards towards Percy. He recited an oath in Greek. It was a butchering of what an ancient oath of loyalty may have been in the past at best, but it was binding nonetheless.

"I, Nico Di Angelo swear on the River Styx to fulfill the every command of Perseus Jackson. To forever swear myself as his vassal, his will to become mine, and to protect his life and wellbeing above all others, be it god, man, or other," he swore. It was short, and the last bit was edging dangerously closely to getting him smitten, especially with the audience they had apparently attracted, but it was the best he could come up with on the spot, and it was binding, so it was good enough.

Percy numbly, almost unbelieving, took the hilt of the sword, and shakily laid it on his right shoulder, and then his left, before handing it back.. Nico took back his sword, sheathed it, and then had the gall to gaze back down into the valley, as though nothing had happened.

Percy scoffed as he felt the concentration of power over the area dissipating. How unbelievable. He shouldn't have even accepted the oath. But then, what choice did he have? Nico had sworn on the Styx, not to him, and not to the gods. He couldn't have forfeited his oath, it was just ceremony by the time Percy had even had a choice.

Shaking his head, Percy looked back down to the valley, feeling Nico's presence beside him. He would let it go, for now, but he'd be damned if Nico ever did something so stupid again.


	3. Chapter III: A Gift

**Chapter III**

 _ **The First of May**_

 _ **Five Days Before the battle of Manhattan  
Beta'd by VCRx and PraetorFable**_

Percy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he looked up at the enormous engraved golden doors before him. The doors depicted tales and epics through the ages. Zeus banishing Typhon, Kronos cutting up Ouranos as his brothers held their father down, Zeus casting Kronos off of Mount Othrys with his Master Bolt. Athena being born from the head of Zeus. Come to think of it, there was a lot of Zeus.

Steeling his nerves, Percy pushed open the doors to the throne room of the gods. Percy had been here five times before, but the power flowing through the throne room never ceased to overwhelm him. This time, however, it was surprising how weak the energy in the room was. It was still enough to erase his mortal existence with the effort of flexing a finger, but it was significantly weaker than the times he had been here before.

As he entered, he noticed the physical effects as well. His father was looking older than he had even been when Oceanus was attacking Atlantis, and Zeus was looking older and more sickly than he could remember any Olympian ever looking. Looking to his left, he noticed Hephaestus, as well, was looking worse. Instead of being dirty and ugly because of his deformities and his forges, he looked like a sickly hermit. Even Artemis, on his right, had lost much of her divine glow.

Focusing on the event at hand, he started to walk towards the center of the throne room and recalled why he had been called here. The invasion. Normally, the Olympians did not meet outside of the solstices, but they had made an exception for the current circumstances. It seemed they had much invested in this endeavour, which was not surprising considering their appearances.

Finally reaching the center of the throne room next to the hearth, he bowed to his father, before moving a few feet towards Zeus and kneeling.

Percy stared up at Zeus expectantly, waiting to be addressed. Kneeling alone was enough to send the sea in him wild, let alone to Zeus, but despite his naturally rebellious nature, and him having saved Olympus multiple times, Zeus was still the king of a pantheon of beings which could all erase him with a thought.

Glancing slightly to his right, he peered into the shadows of Artemis' throne, where he knew that Nico was keeping watch.

It seemed Zeus had finally decided to address him, after several seconds of waiting.

Zeus' booming voice echoed over the throne room. "Perseus Jackson."

Percy winced slightly at the use of his full name. "You are before the gods today to report on the progress of the invasion of the mortal city of Manhattan."

Ah. So the gods had grown impatient. That was the problem. Shaking off his frustrations at the gods calling him all the way to Olympus for such a simple report, he responded. "The invasion is set to commence on the sixth of May, in five days. His Majesty Poseidon-" he nodded at his father "-and I have discussed the occupation of the city, which will mainly be carried out through Nature Spirits and Cyclopes. Dionysus and Grover have both agreed that nature spirits in the Manhattan area will be requisitioned to aid with the occupation of the borough."

The Olympians stared back at him expectantly. He stared right back. That was it. Unless they wished for him to go in depth into their strategy and plans for the city after the battle was over (Which they admittedly had little of, due to the very limited time) then he was done. What did they expect, calling him all the way to their throne room to give a report that only consisted of one sentence.

"Is that it?" Zeus rumbled.

"Yes, Your Majesty, unless you would like further, unnecessary detail." Percy replied, the slightest bit of mirth in his eyes.

Zeus didn't look satisfied. "Very well. Council dismissed."

The gods collectively flashed out one after another, the flashes as they teleported looking less bright than usual, a sure sign of their declined power, all of them looking miffed at being brought to a meeting for such a short report. Finally, only Zeus was left.

Percy turned to leave, but he was stopped by a hand suddenly on his shoulder.

Percy's battle reflexes kicked in. Whipping out Anaklusmos, he whirled around, placing it at neck height to threaten whatever had grabbed him.

The king of the gods looked thoroughly unimpressed. Percy quickly withdrew his weapon and capped it. Noticing Nico behind Zeus with his hand on his sword, seemingly ready to intervene if anything turned violent, he looked at Zeus expectantly.

Zeus still wore his frown, but he didn't blast Percy into a million pieces, so he was pretty sure he was fine for now.

Before he knew what was going on, Percy was enveloped in a blinding white light, and he felt himself being torn into a hundred trillion molecules, moved trillions of miles, - or a couple feet, he had no idea - and then being shoved back into the form of his body.

Percy barely had time to look around and note his surroundings, a dark room which consisted mostly of marble, and notice that Nico was still with him, his sword barely in the scabbard, before Zeus started speaking.

"Perseus. The knowledge I am about to bestow upon you is not to be shared with any individual outside of yourself, and perhaps -"he paused to send a glare at Nico, "-those sworn to you. Swear it on the River Styx."

Percy blinked at the rapid change in tone. Zeus brought him here to tell him something? And from the sound of it, it was something not even the gods knew. That was a scary concept in and of itself, but that it was Zeus of all people trusting him was very… strange for the king of the gods, to say the least.

"I swear on the River Styx to the terms you have just laid out," Percy grumbled as thunder rang in the distance, binding the oath when Percy realized something.

"You planned this. You called me to Olympus for such a menial task so that you could talk to me without suspicions. You broadcast to your entire pantheon that there was a reason that I was on Olympus, and that it was no secret. I wouldn't imagine it would be likely the other gods would know that you spoke to me anyway, but whatever this is is so important you don't want to leave behind any loose ends. What could be so important to even _you_ that you'd go to those lengths?" Percy half questioned and half wondered aloud.

It seemed Zeus was not very pleased that Percy had figured out his motives, but Zeus wore the same perpetually frowning face he always did, so it may have just been his normal mood.

"Listen and find out, boy." Zeus scolded. "There was a pondering that Hydros, the primordial of water, had shared with me many millennia ago, when I was a young god, before he faded. He shared with me speculations about my brother. He suspected that Poseidon could control all liquids, as he could. That there was no real reason that Poseidon could not control liquids, and if he could not, then surely, after his inevitable passing, Poseidon would be able to control the primordial forces of water, that being all liquids."

Percy just stared back at Zeus at the influx of information. He didn't know what to make of this. Percy, at his very core, wasn't very surprised by this new information. He knew what he was capable of at his worst. He remembered Akhlys. Using her own poison against her, what was essentially her own being was used to nearly kill her. It was likely the lowest point he had gone in his life. He had always thought it was because of Tartarus messing with the rules around his godly blood, but if there was a way to control liquids like poison, or even… blood, at will, when he wasn't desperate, when he could use it to help people instead of hurt them in a crazed madness, then he would need to try to hone his power.

Zeus seemed to pick up that Percy knew what Zeus was telling him, but there was more.

"You have known this," Zeus concluded. "You must have used this ability before. You have known it existed."

Percy barely registered Zeus' words, too deep in his own thoughts, but nodded.

Percy was interrupted from his musings by Zeus speaking up. "This is very important, Perseus. You must tell me everything you know about this power. It is vital to the survival of Olympus."

Percy considered for a moment. He had to tell Zeus _something_ , but he didn't need to tell him everything he knew. Then again, what was the point? Zeus had said it was important, and it was not like Zeus to over exaggerate threats. Hell, it was the last thing he would do. Making up his mind, Percy decided to tell him everything.

"It happened by accident." Percy admitted. "It was out of desperation. I was in Tartarus, backed against a wall. Akhlys was about to kill myself and Annabeth. Slowly. I was backed into a corner and acted out of desperation. I took the poison she was using to kill us and used it to choke her. I felt her blood, too. I could feel the moisture in the air-little as it is in Tartarus-I felt everything. It was… surreal."

Zeus looked even more upset than usual. Percy could hear him muttering under his breath, and he didn't sound happy. Finally, Zeus asked one question. "And Poseidon, does he know about this?"

Percy stared back. Of course that would be his primary concern - his brother overthrowing him with this admittedly frightening power.

"No, he doesn't," Percy answered.

Percy watched as Zeus breathed a sigh of honest relief. It was the most human that Percy had ever seen a god act, other than perhaps his father.

But there was still one thing Percy didn't understand. "You didn't know I knew. Yet, you brought me here to volunteer this information. Why?" Percy questioned, before coming to a realization. "Unless there could be some threat to the gods and your power!"

Zeus didn't seem to like being questioned by a mortal, but answered the question nonetheless. "Despite the confidence many on the council have, believing mortals still primitive and unable to defend themselves against divine might-even weakened divine might-we both know this is not true. You will need as much help as you can get if you are to serve Olympus well. There are others on the council that share my sentiments, but they lack the ability to actually do anything." Zeus revealed.

Percy, while slightly miffed at Zeus' dismissal of his abilities, had had the same doubts over the past month. Percy surely had much to think about and practice over the next few days.

"Well, if that will be all…." Percy trailed off.

Zeus shook his head. "There is more. First, you must understand the importance that no other deity find out about this power. I have suspicions that this knowledge could cause the others to grow curious and explore their domains once more with this newfound knowledge. I believe this is a gateway to a primordial level of powers we have not seen since the golden age. You are but a demigod. I perceive your control over liquids other than water will be dismal at best. Nothing more than a last out in an unwinnable scenario. In the hands of a god… this power would be unnatural. Impossible to control. The forces of chaos would overtake Olympus and it would be impossible to control."

Percy understood-sort of. He assumed the real reason someone like Zeus would want this information kept secret is so that he could keep his power. That being said, Percy could still see how gods with control over some of the basic facets of life-primordial facets-could be incredibly dangerous.

Percy nodded. "Very well. I won't tell anyone. I told you that already."

Zeus just shook his head again. "You misunderstand me. You may not tell anyone, or show them intentionally, but they will still see. There is something you must learn before you use this power-or even practice it. You must learn to block yourself off from the vision of the gods." Zeus revealed.

Percy, slightly taken aback by this revelation, nodded once more.

Zeus gave it no delay. "Reach around yourself. Like you are trying to find a river or lake, and then increase the intensity. Do not increase how far you are looking-only how small the body of water. Do this until you feel as though you can sense the air around you-the very movement through time and space."

After minutes of an agonizing headache, he managed to successfully do as he was told, and it was…. Incredible. He could feel _everything._ Every nook and cranny of this room they were in, every microscopic life form making up himself and Nico, the divine energy making up every living being in the room, and…. Every single little piece of moisture in the air, every blood vessel in everyone in the room, every pump of the heart, every flow of a brain fluid. Zeus didn't know it, but he has just taught Percy how to connect with liquids other than water. Sweat was coming up on his forehead, even performing such a task for a few seconds was… incredibly draining. As such, he barely heard Zeus' next words.

"Now, cut yourself off from the lifeforce. Everything you feel around you, you must cut yourself off from. Your divine blood makes you a literal force of nature. By blocking yourself off from that same nature, you can create a shroud over yourself. Everything you do will be hidden from beings using their divine senses to see you. As though a mirage, you will fade and become truly indistinguishable." Zeus said.

Percy, after concentrating for several more seconds, managed to break himself off from the world around him. He couldn't feel the walls, nor the microscopic movements of the molecules in the room with him. And then suddenly, after only a few seconds, his concentration broke, and everything came rushing back. Falling to his knees, Percy gasped for breath, covered in sweat and exhausted.

Unable to form words, he let the god of the skies continue.

"You must practice this ability. It will be necessary before you first learn to use your power over all liquids. But before you go, there is one last thing that you will need to help you. Here." Zeus said, handing him something. Percy did not even have the effort to look up at what it was, exhausted as he was, he was not willing to put in the extra mile to see whatever Zeus had for him next.

Zeus seemed to notice this. Grunting, annoyed, he snapped his fingers. Percy gasped as he was filled with energy, more energy than he had had in months. It was truly incredible to be at a full tank again.

Able to stand up, Percy did so, and looked at what Zeus had been offering him.

Percy blinked. Zeus was offering him…. A crown? Percy stared in confusion at the item in front of him.

Zeus moved it closer to him. Breaking out of his reverie, Percy took the crown. It was silver-or platinum, or titanium, he really had no idea, just that it was silver in color, with green and golden jewels adorning it. His confusion still hadn't gone away, but he did notice something.

All godly items-which he presumed this was-had a sort of aura surrounding them. An aura of power, which usually reflected the domains of the creator and owner, as well as the power imbued within it.

He could feel the power of the ocean drifting inside of the crown, but it was more than that. It was the ocean, and the rain, and the lakes, and the groundwater, and the mist, and… everything. On top of all of this, he could feel the power of the item. It was extraordinary. It reminded him of the weapons of power of the big three, only less concentrated. Where the master bolt had been a cache of intangible power contained in a cylinder and vying to get out, this was less contained. It was more like the power was freely oozing out of the item - as if it knew that despite the large amounts of power it was giving up, it would never run out. Like it was a fire, and the power coming off of it was the heat. It was almost as if it had never been a weapon or a tool in the first place, and that simply by its own existence it was this powerful.

Percy stared at the item, wondering what he could do if he could hone such power. It was incredible. It was beyond anything he had had as his. Even Anaklusmos, which contained an immortal essence, was not this powerful.

Zeus seemed to not notice his gaping. "This crown belonged to Hydros, when he ruled over his domains. I believe its connection to liquids will help you. Unfortunately, despite belonging to a primordial, its powers are quite dismal, but it may be of some use to you."

Percy nearly spluttered in shock. This was dismal power? Percy had felt Zeus' master bolt first hand, and this was at least in the same league. He may not be able to hone it well, due to its naturally uncontrollable nature, but it was certainly powerful. Percy considered telling Zeus this, but refrained. Was it possible that Zeus couldn't sense the power of the crown? Was it because of Percy's connection to the sea that he could? Before Percy could ponder more, Zeus spoke up once more.

"You will need to disguise this item. As this directly correlates with your power over liquids, it must not be used unless you are hidden. Though, you must be careful. Too much use of Primordial power will burn you up from the insides. Here," Zeus said, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, the crown in his hands turned into a necklace, with a small two dimensional crown chained to the end. Percy couldn't sense any power coming off of the necklace, which was a relief.

Putting on the necklace, Percy looked back at Zeus. "Are we done now?" Percy asked with an arch of his eyebrow.

Zeus nodded. "Indeed. Do not forget your oaths, demigods," and just like that, Zeus was gone in a flash of lightning, leaving himself and Nico alone in a dark room with no doors.

Percy was about to start looking around the room for a secret passage of some kind when he saw Nico's hand suddenly in front of him. Mentally smacking himself, he took Nico's forearm, and held in his lunch as he was shadow travelled out of the room.


	4. Chapter IV: A Battle

**Beta'd by VCRx & PraetorFable**

 **Chapter IV: A Battle**

 _ **The Sixth of May**_

 _ **The Day of the Battle of Manhattan**_

With Annabeth on his left and Nico to his right, Percy stood perched atop a building across the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan. Percy observed as a storm rolled in from the north east, the worst New York had seen in years, it seemed. The rivers surrounding Manhattan frothed in the winds. It would be far too dangerous to attempt to cross.

Below them, in a construction site covered in thick, sticky mud, was a group of almost two hundred demigods. He struggled to call them an army. They weren't ready yet; a majority of those below him had arrived at camp in just the last few months, only to be conscripted as soon as they arrived at what had once been a safe haven. Most of those below him were no older than fourteen, yet they were about to fight for a cause which they had no reason to fight for. He knew he had done much of the same, but they weren't him, and he had nearly died a few dozen times by the time he reached their age.

Yet still, morale remained high. Many of the new arrivals were eager to prove themselves. Learning that they were the children of gods had sparked a sense within them in wanting to prove themselves; believing themselves to be the same as the men of legends did wonders for their enthusiasm.

Percy didn't have the heart to remind them that those men of legends almost always died in the end. Rather gruesome deaths, in fact.

But as always, there were exceptions. He could spot a few nervous kids spread all across the bevy of demigods below him. They were the kids that had run into monsters on their way here, or been around long enough to know that life as a demigod was no easy ride. Either way, Percy could only pray they didn't make the rest too nervous. Many battles relied on the courage of those fighting them.

Percy was broken from his thoughts by Annabeth grabbing his right hand. He sent a her a shaky smile, trying to comfort her. But perhaps it was more of a way to comfort himself.

"It'll be alright," she reassured, her voice wavering. He didn't believe that for a second and neither did she.

"It's time, Beth," he managed to mutter.

She seemed to understand and, letting go of his hand, she unclipped the horn that was tied to her waist. Bringing it to her lips, she blew three short bursts into it. A bit old fashioned, but it worked.

The ranks below them understood. Slowly getting into a rough formation which would barely allow them to march over the car-cluttered bridge, the demigod army started marching.

With a final nod of resignation as to what he was about to do, Percy looked to his left and locked eyes with Nico. Nico just snapped his fingers in response.

And just like that, the battle had begun. The preparations that they'd carefully laid out for the last month would finally come to fruition. Undead that had covertly replaced the workers at all the drawbridges and subways all across the island instantly received their orders.

Every movable bridge across the island lifted and every subway leading off the island suddenly stopped at their stations. Once their jobs were done, the undead destroyed any control systems which might be used to undo their work, and sank back into the ground.

Looking miles to his right, he spied a drawbridge rising, the only one in view, and he knew it was done. It was his turn now.

Percy held his left arm out to Nico, and his right out to Annabeth. He would need to be on the ground for this. Feeling both Nico and Annabeth grab on to his forearm, he felt the sensation he had experienced multiple times before. Shadow travel was always exhilarating, but he wasn't in the right mood at the moment to crave excitement, so the nauseating feeling he got only served to make him more weary. He looked to his left to make sure that Nico was still standing and found him wobbling. Wobbling, but still okay.

Percy crouched down and laid his hand flat against the ground. What he was about to do was risky, dumb, precarious, ill-prepared and just about every other word that Annabeth could come up with to describe this plan, but Percy was convinced it was the best way to make sure that as few people were hurt as possible.

Letting out a deep breath and feeling the mud beneath his hand, he focused on the wet, sopping earth. He focused on the water inside of it, mixing with it, and even lower than that he concentrated on reaching deep into the earth below. He sensed the groundwater below him, the absence of water below that, and solid rock. Then he felt it. The magma just below the earth's crust. Even attempting to exert control on lava, especially so deep, would be incredibly exerting, but he focused on just above that: the lower lip of the crust. It was the tectonic plate on which Manhattan sat. Feeling a sharp tug in his gut, he grabbed on to it, and _pulled_.

Know that feeling one would get – the rush of blood – when they'd hung upside down for too long, or the exasperation of pushing against something really hard? Well, combine that with the stomach wrenching of free falling and the fatigue of running full stride for days without rest, and you get what nudging a tectonic plate feels like.

He could say without a doubt that aside from holding up the sky and bathing in the Styx, that this had been the most exerting and painful moment of his life.

Hades, at least after holding the sky he had still been able to walk fine afterward.

But his job was done. With the tectonic plate successfully disturbed, the tremors began. He had attempted to control the earthquake's size, going for about a four on the richter scale, but he was far from experienced in the field.

With blackness slowly creeping into the corners of his vision, he felt the rumbling of the earthquake he had spawned. Putting aside the resentment he currently had for Poseidon for potentially causing the deaths of mortals in the first place, he prayed to his father that he at least wouldn't kill anyone.

Weak walls began to crack around him. The oldest of buildings began to sway and crumble. The weakest of bridge cords began to snap, but overall nothing was seriously in danger of collapsing.

He sighed in relief as he internally gauged the shaking. The quake was a four, or at least close enough to one that it didn't make a difference. It would certainly scare, but no real damage would be done, and that was precisely what he had hoped for.

In Manhattan, screams continued and civilians were running about, with police desperately attempting to take control on the streets. No doubt the national guard was being alerted.

It pained him. It pained him to bring so much fright to so many people. But no major harm would be done to the vast majority of them. Not now.

Percy let the rain wash over him as he recovered. He had to wait a few minutes before he could make use of his distraction. Still gasping for breath minutes later, he was able to raise his hand to make sure Nico was listening.

"Now," he rasped out.

Nico snapped his fingers again, and there was more chaos.

Explosions rang out all around Manhattan. Plastic explosives placed by the undead on every bridge leading in or out of Manhattan were being detonated in just the right positions; giving as much warning as possible that they were to collapse.

All except the Williamsburg.

His earthquake had been designed to frighten the mortals to the point that they would get off of the bridges as soon as possible. He hoped it worked.

Still attempting to catch his breath, Percy was able to climb to his feet a few moments later. Annabeth reached out to wrap an arm around him to steady him, and he felt Nico grasping his arm to keep him from falling over.

He shot Annabeth a weak smile.

"Shall we?" Percy asked, turning to Nico and attempting to contain his fatigue.

Nico looked concerned for his health, but seemed to decide Percy was fine enough. The next thing Percy knew, he was on the Williamsburg, the rough demigod formation on his left. Nico seemed to be drawing in his breaths a bit heavier now as well, and Percy knew exerting his will on so many undead coupled with the shadow travelling could not have been light on his fatigue.

"You alright?" Percy questioned, wanting to make sure he would be able to take part in the battle.

Nico seemed to find it funny.

"Of course you're asking about me," Nico chuckled out in-between staggered breaths.

Seeing that Nico was dismissing his concern, Percy focused on the situation at hand.

The marching of his fellow half-bloods could be heard, muted by the sound of rain and wind exerting its will on the city.

Percy sucked in one last large breath before moving to join the marching demigods.

* * *

Ringing.

That's what Percy had been hearing for the last hour or so.

The plethora of gunshots did nothing to help, and after so much fighting in the streets, he hadn't heard anything coherent in a while. He was leading the demigod forces, yes, but Annabeth was doing most of the tactical directing, thus leaving him to do what he did best—fight.

Percy felt a tug in his gut as he forced the plumbing of an adjacent building to explode, forcing a squad of police officers out through the windows. They screamed as their world twisted and went black through the force of the water that hit them and sent them colliding into the ground. Seeing as the most immediate threat was dealt with, he looked slightly to his right and saw an officer doing his best to hold off the advancing disorganized demigods with a 9mm pistol. Percy charged him, his shield blocking the majority of the bullets and his armor stopping the rest. It never ceased to surprise him how effective divine metal was at deflecting such a small piece of lead moving 1500 feet a second without so much as a scratch.

Leaping over the small makeshift barrier the officer he had been using, he bashed his shield into the head of the officer, knocking him out cold.

The battle had been raging for hours, and he could feel his adrenaline begin to taper. He knew his comrades felt the same way, but likely they were even more fatigued. After all, he still had the water of the raging storm dispelling morsels of exhaustion. His friends had no such blessing.

Like most battles, their plan had failed at first contact with the enemy. Their original plan had been to strike directly toward the Empire State Building, before expanding outward with the gathered nature spirits at Central Park. However, all organization and control over his inexperienced army was lost when a strung along confrontation between a few trigger-happy police officers had led to Blake Beckett, a twelve-year-old daughter of Demeter who had volunteered to be a medic being sent to Hades. A bullet had entered her jugular and exited through her brain stem, killing her instantly.

Some became electrified and angered at Blake's death. Others suddenly looked panicked, fearful of their lives. By the time Nico and Annabeth had managed to put back together some semblance of order, resistance to their invasion had taken hold around them.

Now their objective had just been to make it to the Empire State Building, fighting through two and a half miles of resilient police officers, and occasionally the odd civilian with a gun. It was certainly not a walk in the park, even with the combined powers of Percy and Nico.

Percy, meanwhile, had fallen into combative autopilot. The leader of the Olympian armies would swing and slash and block without thought, his mind solely focused on taking down one victim after another. He was like a wraith, almost flashing across front lines of the battlefield, and his movements seem to soak up most of the attention of the resistance that was left. Every now and then he would toss a gun to one of the older demigods, or keep it himself if his was out of ammo. None of them had any real training with firearms, and celestial bronze arrows were certainly more effective, but in a tight situation, one of the small pistols could be the difference between life and death.

Stumbling ahead of his forces, Percy peeked into an alleyway that they were about to pass, only to quickly jerk his head back. There were three officers in the alley, all ready to blow the brains out of any demigod that wanted to get past.

Taking the pistol he had gotten from his most recent victory out of his pocket, he held his hand around the corner, pulling the trigger four times, before tossing the gun away. He likely didn't kill anyone - he'd purposely aimed low - but at the very least it would distract them for a moment.

Charging around the corner with his shield up, Percy took the vast majority of the opening salvo into his shield, with one or two bullets hitting his pauldrons. He did notice, however, by the rhythm of shots that there were only two guns firing.

Letting a small, grim smile cross his face at the revelation that one of them were already incapacitated, he continued charging the officers, and was on them in seconds.

He didn't let himself think as he slashed his sword down and to the right, a sudden spray of blood Percy had come to associate with the neck telling him that one threat had been dealt with. His mind was numb as he turned and swung his shield out to the left, striking the other officer in the chest and obliterating several of his ribs. He was likely dead before he hit the ground.

Percy had stopped going out of his way to knock them unconscious about an hour and a half ago, when his slower, heedful approach had allowed Butch Walker and a daughter of Melinoe named Chelsea to be sprayed through their torso by a civilian. With Butch dead, Chelsea in critical status, the demigods' ambrosia reserves depleted, and only the barest traces of nectar left, the medics were doing all they could to save and heal with the nonexistent supplies they had left.

Exiting the alley and taking a quick glance at how the situation was developing, Percy nearly collapsed in relief. They were less than half a block from the Empire State building, and resistance had been wavering for the last hour. One final push was all it would take until they would be allowed onto Olympus for a slight reprieve.

With this in mind, Percy pushed forward, charging towards the last group of officers.

Sliding over one of the cruisers the police had been using as cover, Percy landed on the other side and jumped into action. He held his shield out to his left, before slashing to his right, catching an officer off guard and immediately ending his life.

Percy turned to his left to deal with the remaining three officers before seeing that Nico had already beaten him to it. Two lay dead, their heads detached from their body in a truly brutal display of force, while the other lay unconscious, seeing as how his only wound was the blood slowly dripping from his head.

Percy gave a nod to Nico, receiving one in turn, before turning back to where the Empire State Building was being charged by a group of demigods. One final group of police was taking shelter in the building, a group it seemed that he had missed. Sighing, Percy moved towards the entrance to Olympus at a relaxed pace. He would let the others deal with it for once. He couldn't get there before the officers were dispatched anyways, even if he wanted to.

* * *

Percy struggled to stop himself from reaching over the desk and strangling the gatekeeper of Olympus. The minor deity disguised as a balding man in his forties, however, just stared back at him.

"And why, would you please enlighten me, is that?" Percy demanded, his hands beginning to crush the wooden desk he was gripping. Percy was pissed, and rightly so, after all, he had just been told that the forces from Camp Half-Blood would not be allowed on Olympus. Just himself.

The gatekeeper, however, seemed apathetic to Percy's obvious anger. "Big guy upstairs only wanted to talk to you," he said with a shrug.

Nearly snarling, Percy snatched the red card out of the deity's hands, allowing him to go back to reading the day's newspaper, before stomping off to the elevator, Nico hot on his tail.

Before he made it to the elevator, he was interrupted by Annabeth catching up to him. "Percy, we need to get most of the injured on Olympus now, or they won't survive. I've had the medics organize them in priority from immediate to-"

Percy would curse himself for being such a bad boyfriend later, but right now he was not in the greatest state of mind, and snapped at Annabeth. "They won't be going to Olympus. For whatever reason, the gods have taken back their word. Only I'll be allowed on Olympus, and only so _His Majesty_ can give us more orders. So deal with what we have here while I try to deal with the gods' egos," he bit out, fully aware that the gods were nowhere near powerful enough to be observing them now, especially with the storm they had been keeping up over New York for the last several hours.

Percy didn't even spare another glance at Annabeth before finally stepping into the elevator, waiting a brief second for Nico to join him, and then inserting the red card into the ID slot on the elevator, shortly after harshly pressing the red button labelled "600" that popped up.

The elevator doors closed shut with a ding. Finally, after hours of fighting, he leaned against the back of the elevator and slid to the floor, his armor clanking and briefly filling the silent elevator with noise, before resting his head in between his clasped hands and his knees.

Percy was exhausted. He didn't want to go take some request from Zeus. He wanted to take a nap; he wanted to something to eat; most importantly, he wanted to make sure his friends would be okay. He knew Nico was the same, but he had still remained vigilant, not moving from his standing position, his posture perfect, his hand on the pommel of his sword. Percy shook his head from where he sat on the ground. Nico was certainly dedicated to him, far more than Percy felt he deserved.

After several moments where Percy regained his bearing, he noted that they were at the five hundred and eightieth floor, and so stood up, fixing his posture himself. He could not be seen to be weak or faltering, not in front of the gods.

Percy refocused as the elevator slowly came to rest at the six hundredth floor, the doors opening with a ding to reveal the streets of Olympus.

The beauty of Olympus was dulled by the circumstances, and so, for the first time he didn't pause to take in the beauty, but started rigidly making his way towards the throne room of the gods.

Passing through the streets, Percy did his best to ignore all the bowing from the nature spirits and even some minor deities, as well as all the muttering and gossip. The recent invasion of Manhattan could not have been kept secret, he knew.

The minutes he spent walking up to the throne room deep in thought passed faster than expected, and before he knew it he was staring at two ginormous, bronze doors.

Steeling himself, he used both hands to shove open the heavy doors, waiting until they swung open enough so that he could walk in.

The sight that greeted him was different than he expected. Rather than a convocation of the Olympians gathered to exert their will upon him, it was only Zeus sitting in his throne, the master bolt emitting a low crackling from where it sat on the side of his throne.

Percy, for a brief moment, thought back to the many hundreds of deaths that had occured that evening, and kept his eyes on Zeus. A brief thought of treason crossed Percy's mind. It was almost morbidly that Percy realized that should he send Zeus to Tartarus here and now and not announce the existence of the gods to the mortals, that Zeus would very likely fade in his weakened state. He had the opportunity to make the most powerful being in existence cease to exist in his extremely weakened state. That was jarring.

Before Percy could fully dismiss his disloyal thoughts, he reached the distance from Zeus' throne that it would be appropriate to kneel. His attention was once again grabbed by the cylinder of electricity sitting besides Zeus.

Not even considering the dozens of other consequences that he and the world would face for making Zeus fade, the master bolt was the most powerful weapon in existence. Made when Zeus and the Elder Cyclops had been in their prime, when every human worshipped Zeus far above any other deity, the weapon was not attached to it's wielder's current state of power, which is why weapons imbued with magical powers were such a boon to the gods.

It still had the power to wipe the world clean. It would make a mortal atom bomb look like a firecracker, as Chiron had once said.

And so he lowered himself to one knee, his head bowed, one hand pressed to his chest in a fist and his other arm lay horizontal on his lower back.

"Your Majesty," Percy let out, managing not to let his irritation or anger show through his greeting. Percy soon after heard a soft clanking of metal behind him, and assumed Nico had taken the same position.

"Perseus." Percy heard the low, grumbling voice of Zeus let out from in front of him. "It has become apparent that your forces are not large enough to even push a perimeter along Manhattan. The plan has changed," Zeus paused, and Percy could feel the god's eyes staring at him. "You are to utilize the broadcasting station and equipment within the Empire State Building. There you are to give your announcement to the mortals that we have returned to rule over them in our rightful place. Once this is done, your father will send his Cyclops armies onto Manhattan. From there you will continue to expand your territories as previously discussed. This will be done immediately."

There was no room for discussion. Zeus fully expected him to hijack the broadcasting station and send the message out, _today_. Not even just today, but the moment he left Olympus. He had a lot of work to do, it seemed.

"Will that be all, your Majesty?" Percy managed to get out past his irritation.

From Percy's perspective, he and Zeus had a sort of understanding. Percy would be a good, loyal, powerful pet in the mortal realm, gaining the gods and Zeus in particular far more power than they could ever hope to achieve without him, as they could not intervene with mortals. In return, Zeus would allow him dominion over the mortals he cared so little about. As long as Percy was able to look past the casualties and atrocities of this war, and focus on achieving power for the gods, Zeus would then able to look past whatever Percy wanted to do in the mortal realm and any dissent he may show to the gods.

Sensing the dismissive wave of his hand, Percy stood up, turned around on the spot, and strode back out of the throne room of the gods.


	5. Chapter V: A Speech

_**Beta'd by PraetorFable  
Kinda sorta co-written by Vanadium Oxide(VCRx)**_

 _ **Chapter V**_

 _ **The Sixth of May**_

 _ **The Day of the Battle of Manhattan**_

"I, am Perseus Jackson. I reach out to you all today to inform you of a truth which has been hidden from you for millennia." Percy was standing in the middle of a broadcasting station, behind a podium like one of those press releases. Normally, in front of him would be a crowd of reporters and journalists, but now it was only the few demigods that had survived and knew how to operate the broadcasting equipment.

The camera was at a low angle, to make him look more imposing and larger, rather than just a fit teenager. Annabeth was on his right. Bright and sparkling as she could be after hours of battle in a storm, she was to be his public right hand, the head of civil affairs, if anything about this could be called civil. If he was the emperor of this new world order, she would be the prime minister.

On his left was Nico, dark and gloomy as always. It was only exemplified by him standing a bit further back than Annabeth, in the shadows. His dark clothing and stygian iron armament created the appearance of a thuggish ghoul. He would be Percy's left hand, the one that dealt with his problems in the shadows. Neither of them would be introduced today, but Annabeth thought it was a good idea to reinforce their image even before their image was to be crafted. Subliminal messaging, more or less.

"The Olympian gods of the Greeks myths are real. They exist, and are alive in modern society. The island of Manhattan has been seized by the forces of Olympus. We wish nothing more than to save the masses from their worship of false deities, and to pave their paths to Elysium."

That was, of course, barely true. In practice, it was a cheap excuse to persuade the masses into worshiping the Olympian gods. The speech, as with all things this intellectual, was written by Annabeth, as soon as she had heard their schedule would be expedited.

"There will be many of those whom will not believe me; those that will call what I say heresy. But regardless, our conquest will continue and its purpose is to bring enlightenment to all those who have lacked it for thousands of years. The storm we have around Manhattan will continue until we decide otherwise. Those who speak out against the gods will find their fortune turn against them, those who praise the gods will find their lives prosperous."

Percy was nearing the end of his speech now. He hated the words he was saying, but there was a small part of Percy—an annoying, nagging part— that thought it wouldn't be so bad if he was in charge of the world. At the very least, there would be no war, with himself in charge of everything. He couldn't promise to fix poverty, or famine, but by uniting the world, he could still solve some problems. That was the small, evil part of him. The rest of him knew that the things he was saying had no real justification.

"Even now, my father, Poseidon, sends his Cyclops armies from Atlantis to assist in the occupation of Manhattan. To those who would resist us, you will perish, and be damned to an eternity of pain. To those who lay down your arms, you will be spared, and allowed to continue your lives as normal. Choose wisely."

And just like that, the broadcast was over. It was not the most informative speech, but there was always some power in holding the masses in the dark. It had been enough to accomplish what was needed, and that was planting the seed of doubt and worry that would later enable their conversion to the way of the greek gods. Hell, he was pretty sure that a few thousand people would simply take him at face value and start to worship the gods, instead of casting him as some insane radical.

Of course, the vast majority of the population would need more proof. News footage of cyclops fighting their soldiers, giant waves battling their cruisers and lightning bolts batting their planes out of the sky, Percy gambled, would convince them of the sincerity of his claims. From what Annabeth had said, there was a chance that entire nations might surrender once they were convinced of the reality of the situation. And once a few million people got on board, the Greek gods would once again be powerful enough to have complete control over global events. Hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis could be brought down upon those who do not capitulate, while those who did enjoyed prosperous weather and luck.

Shaking his head at the reality of how quickly the gods had decided to seize power, Percy moved out of the room, not even giving a second glance at the crew which had filmed him. He was not enthused about what he would have to do from this point on. Hundreds of demigods had been lost, and he was just getting into it. He figured thousands of mortals would have to die due to his occupation of surrounding burroughs before any government would voluntarily submit.

Either way, he would need to act quickly. Perhaps now that most of his army was dead, he could convince his father to let him primarily use cyclops. He'd be damned if more demigods were lost today.

* * *

Percy watched as thousands of Cyclops marched into Manhattan from the East River. Each were scarcely armed: some had clubs, others spears, a couple even had swords, and some of the leaders even had pegasi mounts. Percy was perched on the empire state building observation balcony, watching as the cyclops marched in clobbered columns in his direction.

On their way in, several Cyclops cut out the internet and phone lines, whatever lines of communications they could immediately disrupt. The island of Manhattan would need to be completely isolated from the rest of the world before their occupation could truly take place. It would unsettle the population to have their internet and phone lines taken from them, but Percy figured that being subjugated by a teenage son of a Greek god would do that anyway.

Annabeth was on the ground floor, waiting for Tyson to meet her on the ground so that she could give basic instructions on how to occupy the city to be passed on to the cyclops army. That meant that Percy was stuck with nothing to do. He had gone down and tried to help with the medical situation, but was shooed away by the still standing children of Apollo.

From what he had gathered, the situation was far from anything resembling good, but there was nothing Percy could do to help. From what he could see, there weren't many demigods left. At least, compared to his normal standards. A few dozen at most, which would be a lot for winter, and was almost all the campers he'd had during the defense of Olympus. But compared to how many they'd had when they set out…

Either way, Percy could only watch. Everything for now was in others' hands. Annabeth told him to get some rest, but he hated sitting back and doing nothing while others died under his orders. It didn't seem right that while most of his friends were laying dying in the medical bay he would be sleeping.

Despite his reservations he turned and, with a nod to Nico, stepped back inside—the storm above the city at his back—where he would go down several floors and sleep as long as he could.

* * *

Running a small country of two million people was exhausting. In the few days immediately following the Cyclops occupation there was yet to be an effective system set up for administering the area. Because Percy decided it was not a good idea to allow cyclops to decide on punishments for criminals, that responsibility now fell solely to him. Reports of criminal behavior and other such things went directly to him. He had Annabeth working overtime to set up an actual administration, but the mortals would need to calm down before any of them would be willing to actually cooperate enough to serve the new government.

To influence anyone of any value to drop their previous beliefs and serve the new government would take a considerable show of power. It would take something big to show that the Olympians were real and powerful—to convince them they were as omnipotent as in the ancient days. Even then, Percy knew in his bones many were never going to change their minds to a single show of force; it might just strengthen resistance. For some he'd have to convince them other ways, whether through Nico's intimidation or Annabeth's persuasion, he would have to turn valuable individuals to work for his government.

Percy already had a few ideas as to how to orchestrate his display of power, but first Annabeth would need to finish the structure for the administration. For now, he would spend his time manually administrating as much of a small country as he possibly could. He was certain a few thousand people were currently sitting in jail cells waiting for him to get the paperwork done, but it was hard enough doing this alone, much less without being there or talking to any party involved.

His only windfall was that Nico was dealing with all of the more rebellious incidents personally, so at least that cut his paperwork down by a pretty large amount.

* * *

After a couple hours, Percy was just about fed up with sitting at a desk without moving for so long. Before he could think up a reason to go 'supervise' what was happening in the rest of the building there was a knock on the door of his makeshift office, and a little girl entered, probably a demigod, by the looks of her one of Annabeth's younger sisters.

"Your highness, Annabeth requests your presence," she said. He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

It was just the excuse Percy had been looking for to stretch his legs, and with any luck the news from Annabeth would be good news.

Getting up from his desk which he took from some executive likely cowering in his penthouse at the moment, he walked over to the elevator and selected Annabeth's floor, the 47th.

Arriving on the floor he walked out to find a relatively busy scene. The office environment had been refitted to their needs, and children of Athena with the help of some disgruntled mortals were rushing about, using almost exclusively paper to transfer information between one another, with the odd computer here and there being used by a mortal.

Walking over to the corner where Annabeth's office was, likely where the floor boss's office was before they'd taken over, he noticed the glances he got from those he passed. From the demigods he mostly got nods of respect and recognition, but the mortals were an entirely different story.

Most threw him looks of fear or contempt. A handful looked at him in reverence and awe. The latter were the ones that had likely actually believed his speech about the greek gods, while the former were simply cooperating with their new rulers, no matter how crazy they seemed to be.

Walking into her office with a knock on the door, he was met with Annabeth's worn out face. They hadn't exactly had much time to relax in the last several days—especially not together.

"Good, you're here." Annabeth gave a tired smile. "The last few days…"

"If you needed help, you could've called me earlier," Percy chided. "I've been bored out of my mind."

Annabeth sighed before her head drooped back down into her paperwork. "No. You have your responsibilities, I have mine. Besides, you'd distract me more than you could help. It's all details in administration structure. We both know it's not your forte."

"That's true enough." Percy stepped up until he stood behind her shoulder. "Well then, if I am distracting, what am I here for?"

"I finally have a lot of the plans for our new military command infrastructure and court systems laid out, but I want you to look over it. One person can't think of everything. And there's another dozen issues I wanted you to be aware of."

Percy took a real look at all the notebooks and loose papers strewn across the desk. It would take hours to read through these. "Let's start with an overview for the military."

It was the topic he was most familiar with.

"We have next to no volunteers for the military, only a few officers and about a hundred enlisted. All in all, it's not even close to a functional military.

"Our most immediate problem is arming our forces once we convince enough people to enlist. We don't have nearly enough celestial bronze to arm any sizable force and even then, that's only auxiliary equipment. We're doing better on mortal weaponry, though. Some of the NYPD armories we were able to raid gave us quite the bounty, but we're on a ticking clock with the limited ammunition we have."

"Were we not able to raid all of the armories?"

"Some were defended to the last bullet; others had their stocks destroyed before we could loot them."

Percy swore. "The invasion will be tougher than we thought then"

"Which comes to our court systems. There are still portions of the city that anarchy or gangs still run awry. There isn't anything too threatening yet, but crime and fighting is still prevalent. We don't want to kill everyone yet but our cells are getting more full by the hour. The detention centers we have are only made for retainment, not full imprisonment and we simply can't imprison everyone either."

"That's partially on me," Percy confessed.

"The system is nearly in place but we just need judges to come back. I've sent letters informing them that they may return to their positions but only three have accepted the terms I've laid out. Perhaps you could send Nico to help out with the rest?"

"I don't think scaring our judges would work," Percy said. He contemplated the matter. "I guess I'll take this on. I'm better at talking, so when you can, make me the list of the judges who need convincing, I'd rather not go through doing the trials myself."

Annabeth nodded, before handing him a folder. "Already done. They're organized by their address so you don't have to run around the city."

Percy gave a sidelong smirk. "But I love running around the city."

"Oh, I know," Annabeth sighed. "Anyway, onto the next topic, I don't think we need to worry about power and water to be cut off from the mainland. To them, we have two million hostages. They're even sending in food supplies over the Williamsburg, so we don't have to worry about starvation, but organizing the distribution and how we will work trade is going to be our most immediate problem."

"Trade?"

"Think about it. We've put Manhattan into martial law with an army of cyclops. People aren't accepting dollars anymore."

"Right. Anarchy." Setting up a new society was difficult as expected. He'd knew going into it it'd be a chore, but was all overwhelming. "Is that all?"

"Everything that you need to be aware of—for now anyway."

"One step at a time. Got it." Percy agreed, "Well, on the ammunition front, I will speak to my father to see if they can begin manufacturing of mortal bullets—at least until we become self-sufficient."

"You'll need to set up the base command, personnel selection, and training structure, but afterward the military should take care of itself for the most part."

Percy nodded. "If that'll be all, I need to get going then. It seems I have a lot of work to do. It was good seeing you." He leaned down to give her a kiss that she returned, before he headed back to his office to begin laying some of the foundations for this new nation.

* * *

"Hear me Manhattan!" Percy's voice boomed out from where he stood atop the Empire State Building, projected across the entire island of Manhattan through Iris. "I am Perseus, son of Poseidon, and your ruler. Many of you despise me. Many of you think me a madman. Many of you laugh in the face of the reality that the gods are real. Many of you will be tortured in the fields of punishment for all eternity. But it need not be that way for all of you. Some of you know it to be true in your hearts, that the Greek gods have finally come to reclaim their places at the top of western civilization." A crack of thunder sounded over the Hudson river.

"Through days of thunder and storms you have sat, through the days of cyclops marching the streets of Manhattan, and yet many of you still deny the truth that lay before your eyes, seeing what has occured as a simple trick, science experiments gone wrong, anything to justify your denial of the gods existence. You are fools. The price you will pay will be an eternity of punishment for you and those you foolishly keep devout to your false god.

Percy softened his voice and his stance. "Trust me, I was one of you once, a boy who lived on the streets of Manhattan, who was blinded to the world of the gods. I do not want harm to come to this city any more than any of you. I love this city. That is why I will continue, that is why I _must_ continue, because every day that I allow to pass without increasing support for the way of the gods is more damned souls passing into the underworld."

Percy could tangibly feel the increase in power and stamina as he gave his speech. Between everything that had already happened—their invasion, the cyclops, and now the fact they were seeing his speech through magical broadcast, citizens of Manhattan en masse were being forced to accept the truth.

Annabeth had estimated that _maybe_ one hundred thousand mortals were worshipping the gods at this rate, and that was a high estimate. Of course, Percy was feeling better than he had ever felt before by leagues, and he figured that if he ever got the chance to test out his abilities that he would be much more powerful than days prior. But that was absolutely nothing to the adrenaline coursing through his veins as tens of thousands of Manhattannites converting by the second.

He hardened his posture and voice once more. Now, to finish the speech.

"Once, I was weak. Once, I was susceptible to the whims of others. But through the gods I found strength. Join me. Join the gods in expanding salvation to others; do not deny them their justice as you had been denied it for so long." He reached a hand out to the Iris message, as if inviting them to join him personally. "Whatever your skills are, they may be put to use. If you wish to see the streets of New York live in prosperity and grace as I do, help me realize the potential of this new empire."

As the message dissolved and Percy walked away, he could almost convince himself that he was doing the right thing.


	6. Chapter VI: A Ruler

_**Beta'd by PraetorFable**_

 _ **Kinda Sorta Co-Written by Vanadium Oxide**_

 _ **Chapter VI**_

 _ **The Seventeenth of May**_

 _ **Eleven Days After the Battle of Manhattan**_

As Percy was sparring with Nico on a floor of the Empire State Building that they had refitted to be a small training area, he reflected on how much his situation had changed in the last several days.

It was a week since he had given his speech, and Percy was on an all time high. He and Nico had been sparring for just over an hour now, going at it with all their prowess and years of experience in full use. Normally, a 15 minute bout would be enough to tire a mortal out at the speed they crossed blades, 30 minutes for the average demigod.

And yet, an hour in, Percy was feeling fine. He hadn't dropped a sweat and knew it was the same for Nico. This had been the case the last several days. With every passing day, they could feel their power growing ever stronger; bits of belief instilling into their soul's power which hadn't been seen since ancient Greece.

His speech had leaked to outside Manhattan, of course, as he knew it would. It was impossible to completely shut down communication in a modern city like New York. Between satellites and radio towers, communication to the outside world would always happen one way or another.

Of course, he knew his speech was far less effective on those beyond the borders of Manhattan. Those that had not witnessed the invasion firsthand from the surrounding boroughs were less convinced, and the non-english speakers who heard his announcement through agnostic translations were less convinced still. But seeds of doubt had been planted, now people hesitated to write Percy off as some crazy zealot.

Capping Riptide, Percy stepped backward and decided to call it for the day. They both had work to get done. Percy's main responsibility at this point would be planning the invasion of Long Island, and making sure their forces were as up to par as they could be, while Nico dealt with potential insurrection or assassination attempts.

Percy had given him the all clear to begin establishing a secret police network over Manhattan which answered to him. How Nico had any idea how to do any of this, Percy had no idea, but they were ruling a small country now after all. He figured this was a learning experience for everyone.

As Percy made his way to the elevator and pressed the button for the 87th floor, which housed the war room, his thoughts once again wandered back to how powerful he might be now. He was truly itching to train with his newly found strength and test his control, but finding the opportunity was something which had eluded him.

Maybe he should put his foot down and find a time to train before the next battle. It would go a long way in saving a lot of lives if Percy could control his powers better, the only question was where to practice. Would it be better to do it in the sea, surrounded by his element, where he could do things which were astronomical in the amount of power it required, or somewhere in the Empire State Building, where he would have to exercise extensive amounts of control over water.

A question for another time he thought as the elevator arrived at the 87th floor with a ding. Walking out with purpose a far different site greeted him than the one that would have a week ago. The entire floor bustled with activity, far more than the pseudo busyness that had greeted him once when he would visit Annabeth's floor. An entire nation's developing army was being organized in this one room. Secretaries and newly promoted officers ran about in a flurry, the lack of digitization for most of their work highlighted this significantly.

When Percy stepped out of the elevator only a couple disinterested eyes bothered to glance at who had arrived at their floor. Those eyes quickly did a double take, stood up, and saluted at attention.

This of course, caught the interest of others nearby, who had similar reactions. Before Percy had made it so much as a yard out of the elevator, everyone in sight was standing at attention.

Used to this by now, Percy barely paid them any mind before saluting back on his way to the table Clarisse and a few other officers were already standing around. They all immediately dropped their salutes, still standing at attention until they were completely out of his sight.

Percy didn't respond with the cold arrogance that many leaders did when in a situation like he was. Percy didn't think himself above them, or deserving of their unconditional respect or loyalty. It was simply that doing anything else would make him appear weak, and appearing weak was the one thing he could not afford at this stage.

Taking his place at the head of the table they had designated as their planning table, Percy nodded before sitting down, the rest of the officers also taking their seats.

Percy looked out over the map of Long Island which had dominated the majority of his time for the last few days.

About half the officers around the table were children of Ares and Athena, and about half of them were particularly promising mortals which had signed up for their officer corps.

Malcom was there as a liaison to Annabeth and de-facto leader of the two other children of Athena around the table, while Clarisse acted as the de facto leader of the other two children of Ares.

It was factionalism at its finest. At least the mortals had yet to form factions in the war room. It was something Percy wanted to break up, but ultimately there was no easy way to. If he got rid of qualified individuals, it would potentially make a plan go worse. If he kept them, then sure they would cause some arguments, but ultimately Percy had executive authority. It didn't matter if Clarisse or Malcom were having a catfight, because a decision would be made either way.

"What's changed since yesterday?" Percy asked those around the table in expectation. The mortals were on his right as he looked down the long rectangular table, while the demigods were on the left, with Clarisse closest to him.

The mortal closest to him on the right, newly christened Lieutenant Colonel Darlton, took a moment to take in the appearance of Nico, who stood just behind him. It wasn't often that Nico was at these meetings, but evidently he didn't have more pressing matters at the moment — a sign that things were calming down, if anything.

Clearing his throat, Darlton spoke up "Sir, we have decided conclusively that Brooklyn must be the location for our initial push. Our predictions, while uncertain due to the… unique nature of our forces, are mostly conclusive that taking Long Island will take a not insignificant amount of time, and should the United States forces find a way to block off the east river for transportation, we would be utterly stranded.

"The best course of action would be to seize from the Brooklyn Navy Yard all the way to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in our initial assault, so as to greatly reduce the enemy's capability for marine warfare on Long Island as we push forward, to help prevent any naval assaults in the difficult weather. Furthermore if-"

"That will not be necessary. I'm surprised one of my cousins did not inform you," Percy made a gesture to his left, "—but their naval forces will not be an issue. The threat of naval invasion or support is irrelevant while I lead our forces."

An officer next to Darlton spoke up before he had a chance to respond "Yes, sir, we were made aware of your… Affinity with water. However, after asking our more divine companions of your capabilities, it was decided that should they send a carrier group, you would not be able to sink any one ship before the fleet itself was combat prepared, causing us a significant amount of losses. As Lieutenant Colonel Darlton was saying-"

Percy interrupted one of his officers for the second time that day. "Then perhaps—" he sent a sharp glance at his left, "—my cousins are misinformed. A carrier group will be a distraction and nothing more. If the United States Navy decided to mobilize their entire armada I doubt a single warship could get into firing range before they were sunk."

Percy's powers weren't the only thing that grew. His senses also had grown since their debut. Truth be told, if Percy concentrated, he could tell the moment a destroyer left port in California. His subordinates didn't need to know that yet, but what they _did_ need to know was that nothing mortal in the sea could challenge them so long as Percy was there.

After a breath, Darlton took back command of the situation. "Very well. Besides those, there are no other areas of tactical or strategic importance until we reach the JFK airport. I would recommend that we attempt to take control of everything west of Broadway and Pennsylvania Avenue. It would make a very clear border, and would also allow us to march straight out from the Williamsburg bridge."

Percy thought for a second. It was more than all of Brooklyn. It would be ambitious. "Do we have enough people for that? What are we working with?" he asked.

"Currently..." Malcom spoke up, the first one from Percy's left to do so today "We have twelve thousand Cyclops, thirteen thousand active duty personnel which we have recruited to be outfit with the estimated thirteen thousand guns we've seized, about eighty thousand reserves to be deployed once we have access to more weapons and ammunition, a civilian police force of about eight thousand who do not have firearms, and three hundred men in the vanguard, which are all being led by various demigods and outfitted with celestial bronze armor and weapons. We have enough to fit just over one thousand people into the vanguard, however for obvious reasons we are being rather selective with our personnel selection."

Most of that Percy knew previously, but it was certainly better to hear it all at once.

"I suggest we assault navally, it would work best on the strengths of our current forces. Attacking from the sea would open us to being cut off, but it is a risk which might pay off." Alex, the child of Ares next to Clarisse, argued.

Percy took a deep breath and steeled himself for the hours of planning that were to come.

* * *

Percy sat across from Nico in the training room. Their spar for the day had just finished; it had gone a bit longer than usual today, about an hour and fifteen minutes, but slowly Percy was beginning to think there wasn't much of a point to the sparring anymore.

They both knew that Percy was a better swordsman. That had been an objective truth that hadn't changed since they first met. But when they went on for over an hour without breaking a sweat, with neither one making a mistake, it was no longer becoming a question of skill, but predicting the others moves, which they could now do effortlessly.

Predicting Nico's moves in the field would likely not help anything, so Percy was trying something new out: Meditation. Of course, Percy couldn't keep his mind empty or his body still for more than a couple seconds, so calling it meditating was a bit inaccurate, but the principle remains the same.

Both Percy and Nico sat on the ground in the wide open area they used for sparring, directly across from each other, with their eyes closed. They were trying to better harness their new found power, especially Percy, in controlling incredibly small bodies of water. But first, he had to hide them from the gods. Stretching his senses out, Percy did as Zeus had instructed him to what felt like so long ago.

He focused in on the most miniscule of energy flowing around him, and kept focusing, until, like before, he could sense even the tiniest of entities. It was markedly easier than the first time, both in how quick he managed it and how much it exerted him. He figured this was a combination of having done it before and his new great increase in power.

Then, with a sudden yank, he cut himself off from the energy that connected him to the outside world. No longer could he feel every atom which made up the air, but he could still feel to a very intense degree every bit of moisture in the room. Feeling Nico's blood made him uneasy, feeling his own made him nearly freak out. It was an incredibly surreal feeling. Like being able to numb a part of your body and rub it with your hand. He knew it was him, but it felt disconnected in a way.

Percy had no idea what Nico was doing, but figured this would also help him with controlling his power. There had to be something he could meditate on to help him improve his control over shadows.

Refocusing on his own efforts, Percy reached out to a random part of the room. He could feel every molecule of water shifting through the air, before he condensed it to form a miniature trident. Pulling more water from the vast room they were in, he made the trident bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until it was the size of a regular trident.

After guiding it to his hand and feeling it for a moment — if just to confirm that it was real — he attempted to dispel it back into the atmosphere.

Prior to the invasion of Manhattan this likely would have knocked him unconscious. Now, he wasn't even sweating. That didn't mean it was easy, however.

After about thirty seconds, he managed to dispel the trident into the room at large.

He tried again. This time, he was able to form the trident that much quicker, and then dispel it just a little bit quicker as well.

Having an idea, Percy opened his eyes. Nico was across from him, intensely concentrating, and there was actually a bead of sweat making its way down his forehead. Percy didn't want to know what he was doing to require so much power.

Taking his necklace off, Percy willed it to become the full sized crown he had seen when Zeus gave it to him. Immediately the power almost floored him. It seemed that becoming more powerful had only revealed more of the crown's power to Percy, not made it seem less powerful in comparison.

Percy tentatively put the crown on, and felt a rush of power. The power was even more than what had occurred when he made his speech. The power this object held… was incredible, simply put. Was this the power a primordial simply exuded?

Percy could feel with razor sharp accuracy an almost omniscient view of the world. He could feel everything from Nico's beating heart, to the coffee that a secretary was drinking three floors above him, to the water surrounding Manhattan, as far inland as the water inside a grain of wheat in Kansas, and the blood pumping through the veins of a frog in Chongqing. Willing the trident to form, it instantly appeared in his hand, before he dispersed it and it returned to the room at large instantaneously.

Percy nervously took off the crown. That power. It was... Addicting. He wasn't sure he could handle that kind of power. It was the power of a primordial — no, a glimpse at it — and Percy was absolutely terrified.

But the crown would remain useless if he couldn't use it in view of the gods, he would have to completely hide the area he was using his powers in. Any feat which required the crown would not be in a small area.

Having an idea, Percy concentrated on the crown, feeling the energy around it, just slightly opening up his sensitivity to the world around him. Just like pulling a plug, Percy disconnected the connection that he felt to the crown, and almost blacked out from the pain and exhaustion that hit him.

Though his thoughts were barely coherent, Percy could just barely make out Nico rushing to his side as his world went black.

* * *

Percy awoke in the bed he had been using for the last week. After several days of living on a cot in the Empire State Building, he had found himself a proper bed brought to his floor, in one of the rooms that wasn't being used.

He was not entirely surprised to see Nico standing in the corner. It seemed Nico had been watching over him since… whatever had happened, however long ago it was.

"What happened?" Percy asked, sitting up and rubbing his head. It was still throbbing, and the parched itch in his throat made it many times worse.

"You reached a bit past your limits." Nico told him, solemnly. The son of Hades gave a pointed look upwards. "Mind cutting us off?"

Percy nodded, and after a moment of concentration, their room was hidden from the eyes of the gods.

"I guess you tried cutting off the crown from the divine world." Nico pointed at the crown which Percy hadn't noticed now laying on his nightstand. "Rather, I guess you did. That is now undetectable, at least to me. Before I could feel a bit of energy radiating off of it, but now it's just a crown."

"Oh, yeah." Percy shook his head "I forgot to tell you, I'm a bit too used to you knowing everything I know at this point. This crown," he picked it up with one hand, and true to Nico's statement he couldn't feel anything from it, "—is crazy powerful. I assume you can't feel it because you aren't connected to the sea or water, but the power that comes off this crown."

Percy paused, collecting his scattered thoughts, before looking into Nico's eyes. "I don't know whether it enraptures me or terrifies me. When I put it on, I could feel _everything._ It's more powerful than anything I've ever even heard of. The master bolt, my father's trident, everything. And the scariest part is that it's like it's not even _trying_. At least the big three's symbols of power are designed to be powerful weapons, but this thing just exists." Percy turned his gaze from Nico to the crown.

A look of realization came across Nico's face. "So when you cut it off... despite how much power you've gained recently, it just knocked you out cold."

Percy nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. That being said," Percy tapped the crown on one of its points, turning it back into the necklace form which Percy had worn for the last couple weeks. "I'm far more free to use it now that the gods can't detect its power."

As Percy stretched and got up, Nico came over to try and help him, before being swatted away by Percy.

"So, how long have I been out?"

Nico cleared his throat. "Yeah, about that. It's been just under two days. I've informed Annabeth and your command staff that you're currently working on a project that requires your direct attention."

Percy stilled. "Was it really necessary to lie to Annabeth?"

Nico shrugged in reply. "As far as I knew, you wanted that crown thing to be a secret from everyone, Annabeth included."

Percy frowned. "You're right, but still, it doesn't sit well with me. Anything else to tell me?"

"I haven't exactly been keeping up with your command staff or Annabeth. There was the largest insurrection we've had yet in upper Manhattan, but still nothing I couldn't handle personally."

Percy's face darkened, knowing what such a large insurrection would mean for those that had attempted it.

"How many?"

"One thousand, eight hundred and fifty two."

Percy bit his tongue. That was rough.

"On the bright side, it seems like everything has died down since then. Most of the more organized resistance groups joined that one insurrection." Nico pointed out.

Convincing himself that was good news, Percy nodded and started moving towards the door. He had some catching up to do.

* * *

His command staff was not super pleased he had up and disappeared on them for two days, especially the demigod officers. The mortals seemed slightly disgruntled, however seemed to respect him enough to assume he was taking care of some important demigod business. If anything, the demigods in the war room were causing the mortal officers to be less content.

They could always assume it was demigod business, until demigods they worked with complained about it all the same. Keeping them in line was manageable but a chore, especially since those like Clarisse saw him as their equal and peer. It almost wasn't worth the trouble keeping them around.

Annabeth was more difficult to deal with initially, but after realizing she'd just have to trust that he knew what he was doing, had calmed down.

Now Percy was in his office signing documents. In reality it was nothing more than red tape, but some things simply needed his signature.

The promotion of higher ranking officers, the approval of some contract with a local manufacturer to create something for the government (as limited as those were) or the assignment of an officer to a high ranking billet.

Long story short, there was lots for Percy to catch up on. Some of it, he authorized Annabeth to take care of in the future. On the military side of things, there wasn't so much delegation. Percy wasn't a control freak, not when it involved him doing paperwork, but there was nobody that he could truly trust to run the military. Clarisse or any of her siblings were out the window, same with Malcom and his, and there weren't any mortals yet in his service which he trusted enough to give autonomy to any major degree.

Lieutenant Colonel Darlton showed the beginnings of being a competent officer, but Percy had just met him. It would require far more than some early promise for Percy to trust someone with the military.

His C-Staff also had a designated day for the invasion of Brooklyn, which would be on May 24th, before hopefully rapidly pushing into the rest of Long Island before the end of May while they were disorganized.

After all of Long Island was theirs, their free space to conduct operations and construction would rapidly grow. After all, there was very little free space in Manhattan. With the incredibly dense population on the island, Percy and Annabeth had found that they were often squeezing in positions for offices and government bureaus, displacing people as they did so.

Percy knew things wouldn't calm down, at least not for a while. He just hoped it was sooner rather than later. Percy wasn't a lazy person, but he figured that he had experienced more than enough war for a lifetime, and yearned for the day he could take a break from the constant work without fearing his new nation would implode on itself.

Just as he set down the pen he had been holding for the last few hours and began shaking the cramps out of his hand, he sensed someone on the elevator arrive at his floor.

There was a knock on the door to his office moments later.

"Come in," he called, watching as the door opened and a daughter of Hermes walked in. Before the door closed, he got a glimpse of the two guards in celestial bronze armor standing outside his door.

They were two demigods whose names he couldn't currently remember, but they were both hand picked by Nico to serve as his protection when Nico wasn't around. Though they both knew Percy didn't really need it, Nico insisted the extra security be present incase Percy needed something, or was suddenly in a situation where he was unable to defend himself, like two days ago.

Turning his focus to who had just entered his office (Jeanna, was it?) he saw a small stack of papers in her hand. Setting them down on his desk, she spoke.

"A message from New Rome, your highness," she said, before bowing slightly and walking to a corner of the room, where she remained, until Percy dismissed her or gave her a message to send back to New Rome, he assumed.

Looking down at the papers in front of him, Percy sighed as he realized they were written in English.

Reading through the papers, Percy was thoroughly unsurprised. It seemed Jason had been pressed back into service for New Rome by the gods as consul of New Rome.

They had taken a far more tactical approach to seizing their surrounding areas, and Percy was honestly a bit impressed. The Romans had contacted former demigods which were now in government. Most of the few legacies and demigods which had taken up government positions were in low level bureaucracy jobs. But it would help with the transition once they struck nonetheless.

But what was the most shocking was the governor on the list. Once they had secured California, expanding to Oregon would be nigh instant.

Most of the pages were status updates on when New Rome would make their move, and how to coordinate it with the Greeks in New York. Writing back, Percy wrote general instructions for them to follow in San Francisco. He trusted Jason to handle their side for the most part, but some things would need to be the same between their two sections for when they eventually connected. New Rome would have a much easier time of setting up a government in their surrounding area. It was less densely populated, and they already had a civilian government set up, whereas Percy and Annabeth had had to create one from scratch.

Signing his name at the bottom of his letter back, and putting an impromptu imperial stamp (which was just a fancy insignia some executive had had in their office which happened to contain a trident) on the bottom right, Percy beckoned to the girl who had delivered the papers.

Handing her his response, he took a moment to stretch as she hurried off. Picking up his pen once again, he resumed the arduous job of paperwork.

It wasn't half an hour later before Percy sensed someone else arriving on his floor and there was another knock at his door. One of his guards peaked their head in.

"Your highness, a Sasha Deveraux is here. She doesn't have authorization to be here, but insists she see you."

Percy raised an eyebrow. If he recalled correctly, she was a daughter of some minor goddess. Maybe Hecate? Either way he had heard her name before, so she was definitely a demigod.

"Let her in, I'll see her," he decided.

The door swung open and a girl a couple years his junior walked in timidly, not the least confident body language. He could tell by the way she was slightly drawn in on herself and her gaze tended to drop downward that she was uncomfortable. She had black hair and purple eyes, and Percy got the inkling he was right about her being a daughter of Hecate.

As the door closed behind her with a click, and Percy looked at her expectantly, she seemed to shrink in on herself even more.

She gave a bow lower than any demigod he knew had ever bowed to him. She really wasn't very familiar with him, it seemed.

"Your Highness," she greeted. He was surprised that her voice didn't come out as a squeak with how nervous she appeared to be. There was the slightest bit of shaking in her voice, but overall she managed to hold it together.

Percy sat patiently, waiting for her to gather herself and say what she wanted to say.

"I'm the last daughter of Hecate that my mother has claimed at camp sir — ah — I mean your highness. I wanted to ask permission to go to camp and get the texts we keep in my cabin on magic. I was never granted access as one of the newer campers, but now…"

Ah, so Percy was right in guessing she was a daughter of Hecate. He shot her a sympathetic glance. He hadn't quite realized that she was the last daughter of Hecate. That meant that Lou Ellen… Percy refocused on the girl in front of him.

Nodding, Percy responded, "Sure, go ahead. Just bring everything back here. If you need anything, let me know. We have plenty of spare floors if you need a large space to keep them, and as the last daughter of Hecate, you will be a very valuable asset in the times to come. If you require any resources, just ask. In fact..." He reached into a drawer on his desk, taking out a slip of paper. He wrote a short message, signed, and stamped it.

Handing it to her, he elaborated "This will get you anywhere you need to go in Manhattan, and direct access to me and anyone else you may need to talk to. Go to the 47th floor and talk to Annabeth, she'll arrange for your transportation to camp and back."

Blushing, she ducked her head and took the paper. "Thank y-you, your highness."

Honestly her shy attitude, while at first a bit endearing, was quickly starting to turn annoying, he'd have to fix that. "And keep your chin up, you'll be working for me now, right? I can't have one of my people blushing up a storm everywhere they go, can I?" He sent her his signature lopsided grin. "Now go, you have a lot of work to do it seems."

Nodding quickly, she issued another bow before turning and leaving the room, her stride ever so slightly more confident than previously.

* * *

Percy was having one of his weekly meetings with Annabeth the next day, where they caught up both professionally and personally.

They were just finishing up the discussion of logistics when they invaded Brooklyn and then subsequently the rest of Long Island, and food distribution afterwards.

"Oh, and there's another thing," Annabeth seemed to remember. "We need an official flag, name, insignia, all of it. Branding, basically. You kinda worked yourself into a corner with the whole 'help me build this new empire' thing. I told you I should have written your speech." She sent him a small glare.

Percy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I was kinda going for shock value on that."

"Well, you certainly achieved that. The only problem now is that we have to be an empire, and you the emperor. I'm not even going to think about getting permission from the gods to name yourself emperor. You were put in charge of Olympus's forces so you could conquer the mortal world and expand worship for the gods, not… whatever this is."

She seemed genuinely stressed over the repercussions from the gods.

"Hey." He reached a hand over his desk to grasp hers. "I already talked to Zeus," the instant he said his name he could feel a presence enter the room. Annabeth didn't feel it, and Percy only did because of what Zeus had taught him previously about feeling his connection to the divine world. Percy was constantly connected at least a little bit. He theorized that extreme use of that trick was how the gods projected their presences, but he hadn't had enough time to quite get that down yet.

Refocusing on the conversation, he resumed his sentence. "He's fine with us taking over down here. He cares that we get as many mortals to worship the gods as possible. You could say we basically have a blank check as far as what we do down here."

Of course, Percy had spoken to Zeus about no such thing, but it had always been the sort of understanding they had. Percy was calling the bluff now. If Zeus' opinion on the mortal world was as Percy thought, then Zeus would do nothing, and let him be. If Percy was wrong, then he assumed he would be getting a summons to Olympus soon.

Annabeth seemed relieved at that.

"You should have told me." She sent him a look as she squeezed his hand. "Well then, my point still stands. You put yourself into a corner with the empire thing. You'll have the title of emperor. Which means we'll have to go for an incredibly authoritarian society, not even the theocracy I was hoping we could work out."

Percy stopped his eyebrow from raising at that. Her vision for a theocracy certainly hadn't been something he had been let in on.

"But now we'll need to work on PR. I'll draft up some flags, insignias, et cetera. We'll need to point you in a royal light, — Hades, we'll need a _crown,_ a _throne_."

Annabeth continued to fret about the various details for another thirty seconds before Percy cut her off with a chaste kiss on the lips.

He grabbed her hand "We'll work it out. This is hardly the hardest thing we've ever had to do. I'm sure we'll be fine," he reassured her.

Sighing, she nodded, finally taking a deep breath. "You're right, it's just… too much. I didn't expect running a new government to be easy but…" she bit her lip.

Thinking back, Percy realized they hadn't shared any proper alone time since the invasion. The stress was piling up on both of them, he knew.

Percy leaned in to kiss her. They needed to take a break, just to be with each other for one night. Damn the empire he was building, he would always find room for his Wise Girl.


	7. Chapter VII: A Conqueror

**Co-Written by VanadiumOxide  
Beta'd By PraetorFable**

 **Chapter VII**

 **The Twenty Second of May**

 **Sixteen Days After the Battle of Manhattan**

Percy flew over the formation of assembled soldiers below him on Blackjack, while Guido carried Annabeth on his right, and another one of Blackjack's friends carried Nico on his left. It was a massive block of dark clothing. There had been no officially produced uniform, but every soldier was wearing black or dark grey, all still standing in a slightly rough formation. After all, they had only a few days to train them, and formation was the least of their concerns.

There were enough mortal police officers within their ranks now to enable the cyclops to form an actual army that could be deemed self sustaining. Now, twelve-thousand cyclops stood in formation on the field below him, their formation marginally better than their mortal counterparts. The cyclops army could still not be called organized by professional standards, however. Even now, below him, they were resisting butting heads, thoughts in the clouds.

He wished his father could've loaned him the mermen army. Not only would the force be larger, they'd be more professional and adequately trained. Alas, they couldn't operate well on land.

In front of them was the Vanguard. Three hundred and thirty six soldiers stood in a rigidly perfect formation, all adorned in bronze. He had assigned every able demigod combatant they had left to the vanguard, with the exception of himself, Annabeth and Nico. Standing with them was just over 300 exceptionally promising mortals.

Despite the gathering of almost twenty five thousand people a few hundred feet below him, the morning was still, not a single sound breaking the silence. Not a tree cracking in the wind, nor a caw of a crow. Even the nature spirits were managing to stay put.

Speaking of nature spirits, Percy needed to talk to Grover to see what happened with that whole 'nature spirits will help police the island' thing which had certainly fallen through. He knew nature spirits were peaceful by nature, but it certainly miffed Percy to have them simply sitting by.

Refocusing on the formation below him, Percy frowned. The fighting force below him, when paired up against the United States military, would be absolutely annihilated in the first hour. But they had a force multiplier that the US didn't. Two children of the big three. While they had yet to arrive onto the scene, they expected a full twenty thousand legion of undead summoned from Nico. Of course, it would be taxing, but it would be well worth it. Then, Percy would slam their defensive position with the largest tsunami that the eastern seaboard had yet seen, but a controlled tsunami still.

After that, their forces would move across the bridge, the expendable and mostly unarmed undead at the front, the cyclops forces just behind them, the mortal forces following up, and the vanguard to clean up at the end. Essentially, they were trying a modern day blitzkrieg strategy. Thanks to Percy, mortal air and naval power wouldn't be a threat, and with their ground forces isolated and half drowned, thousands upon thousands of cyclops, undead, and mortals spilling into the streets would rush past them, causing chaos. Once they were entirely disorganized, injured, and had no idea what was going on, the vanguard would come to clean up and subjugate, hopefully with next to no casualties.

That was the plan, anyway, but Percy had learned that plans did not often survive first contact with the enemy.

Shaking away his distaste, he did have to admit that they had built a semi-professional army from nothing in a handful of days. It spoke to the talents of Annabeth, and the newly found dedication that the mortals that joined their new regime had.

Nodding at Annabeth, he turned away from the anxious mass of his soldiers below, flying back to the Empire State Building.

* * *

Two days later, Percy was standing on one end of the Williamsburg. Annabeth was standing to his right, and Nico to his left. The latter brushed a drop of sweat off his brow, winded at the mass summoning he'd just performed. Twenty thousand undead stood behind them. Percy didn't like the idea of just running over the Williamsburg. It was stupid, and there would be far too many casualties, but they had exhausted every other option during their invasion of Manhattan when they had destroyed every other route onto or off of the island.

They didn't even have enough boats to pull off a naval invasion, and if they did, it'd make them sitting ducks.

The US military had, of course, rigged the bridge with explosives just in case they tried to stage an invasion over the Williamsburg, but Nico had taken care of that days ago. Not that their opponents knew that yet.

Steeling his resolve, Percy called out to the undead army behind him "Itinere, exercitum!"

The foot soldiers began to march, and Percy cringed at the unsynchronized footwork. It didn't matter for now, however. He knew that they would be enough to take Brooklyn. Discipline and organization would come afterwards.

Sighing, Percy looked off into the horizon, wondering how well their Roman cousins were doing. They'd decided to launch their individual invasions simultaneously, nine in the morning EST on May 24th. There was hope that with a new theatre in California, the US forces could be caught off guard. Hopefully, the Romans' invasion would go more smoothly. He expected with how much attention New York has gotten over the last few weeks, most of the US' forces would be on the east coast, away from the Bay Area.

Beyond the timing, he was out of the loop on the end of the details. Percy hadn't micromanaged their end — it was well within their capacity to plan out their own invasion. It would also do no good having Percy make the decisions when he was a continent away. Because of this, they had nigh complete autonomy until they hypothetically met up in the middle of the country.

That was, of course, if everything went to plan in the next several months.

As the charging undead nearly reached Percy's position, he nodded at Annabeth. It was Percy's turn.

Breaking into a sprint for several seconds until he reached a part of the bridge that was over water, he had no hesitation as he dived in.

Percy felt the water surround him in a way he hadn't since the second gigantomachy. In his element, the salt water of the East River, Percy felt like a god. Like he could move mountains. Or in this case, an entire river.

Focusing on the task before him, Percy mimicked lifting the water with his hands, raising his palms up towards the surface. At once, millions and millions of gallons of water lifted from the river bed. Eerily still, the water carried Percy along with it.

Percy closed his eyes as he focused on the feat he was pulling off. It was only a small section of the river he was lifting, and with his new powers it was taxing, but not so draining that he couldn't handle it.

It parted around the Williamsburg bridge, and as the undead and cyclops warriors barely paid it a glance, the mortal soldiers in their army were in awe. They had been told the gods were real, the vast majority even believed it, but this was like nothing they had seen before.

Sure they had seen an ambiguous storm, and a message made from rainbows, but this was on an entirely different level. One by one, the people of Manhattan were made aware of the validity of their new ruler's claims.

On the other side of the river, it wasn't much better.

While basically all of the civilians had been evacuated from the direct shore area, the soldiers which had dug in on the other side in preparation for the invasion they knew was coming, jaws dropped.

Of course, the vast majority of soldiers fighting against them didn't believe in the gods. It was all science and optical illusions. But the millions of gallons of water looking to end them begged to differ.

One by one, individual squads of soldiers threw down their weapons and raised their hands above their heads. Not all of them surrendered, not even quite a majority, but many.

Unfortunately for them, it was too late.

In a crash akin to thunder, louder than a train racing by, millions of gallons were sent hurling onto Brooklyn's shores.

As soon as the water hit land buildings were torn into rubble, barricades, emplacements, and tanks were all crushed, swamped or carried away by the overwhelming force coming down upon them, and any semblance of cohesion was lost.

The soldiers didn't fare much better. Every soldier on the immediate coast was dead in seconds. Those further back held on for dear life. Some of the luckier ones even survived long enough to see the wave reaching the area that hadn't been evacuated, before mechanically receding.

Dropping himself off on the Brooklyn end of the bridge, Percy stood panting for a moment. It was a bit taxing, but nothing he couldn't handle. He could even probably do it a second time, or a third, without being exhausted, but once was enough to break the mortals' entrenchments.

He barely had to wait five seconds before Nico and Annabeth appeared from the shadows below him. They all shared a glance. No words needed to be spoken, they knew what came next.

A few minutes later, the army of the undead came pouring over the Williamsburg, completely ignoring the shots coming in from the enemy army far down the street. They charged headfirst at the army they had been commanded to destroy.

Once they were a hundred yards inland, some of the few dead which had been buried with guns started firing back, though most of them had muskets.

Allowing all twenty or so thousand undead to spill past them, Percy and Nico were feeling rejuvenated. Percy actually cared about the cyclops lives, so he decided that now would be the time for Percy and Nico to personally join the fight.

"Nico, on me! Wise girl, stay here and wait for the vanguard, before directing the cleanup."

"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied with a sarcastic smirk. That was his trademark, damn it.

Deciding he'd get her back later, he charged into the fray about a half mile down the road.

It was a few minutes before he found anyone of any threat. It was a soldier with half his leg pinned under a piece of the building which had fallen on top of him. Somehow, the man was still firing, spraying ammunition into the giant mass of undead running full tilt a couple hundred feet from his location.

He was dead before he could notice Percy was on top of him.

Percy moved on, and the cycle was repeated for the next fifteen minutes. He charged ahead, finding anything that was any sort of threat and eliminating it, while Nico watched his back.

* * *

"Tower this is Blue Falcon actual, I will request again that I be cleared for take off, over."

"Blue Falcon actual this is tower, that's a negative. Say again, the weather conditions are not clear for operations, over."

First Lieutenant Canik pounded his fist on the side of his jet. From the sparse reports he was getting, their ground pounders were getting absolutely slaughtered out there. Sure, there was a huge risk, but they should be cleared to run risky operations in circumstances like this. Unfortunately, because it was not seen as something that could result in the collapse of the United States, or total war, protocols were to be followed to the letter. Bullshit.

He switched his transmission frequency to his subordinate radio.

"All Blue Falcon elements, this is Blue Falcon actual, we've been cleared for takeoff."

It wasn't five minutes later that they were all in the air, barring Canik himself. They had been prepped for takeoff since there was word of an invasion over the Williamsburg.

Canik taxied onto the runway and started increasing his throttle.

"Blue Falcon actual, this is tower. You are not cleared for takeoff, say again, you are not-" Canik switched his secondary frequency to ground-to-air, cutting the man off. He wouldn't let his squadron sit back while Americans were getting slaughtered and he could do something about it.

* * *

It had been fifteen minutes of picking off the occasional threat when they started to get to the area where there were coherent forces which hadn't entirely been drowned. Quick reaction forces were deploying to their location from all over the area, weakening their coastal and tactical point defenses in order to reinforce the front line that was being rapidly obliterated, and it was beginning to show.

Every now and then, Percy or Nico would have to deal with a tank or other armored vehicle that popped up. Mostly however, they were fighting infantry.

Percy felt someone far, far above him, along with several other people. They were moving rapidly, but not directly towards him. They were moving around in circles. Percy almost laughed. They had launched their airforce? Well, he couldn't begrudge them for trying.

Stopping in his position for a moment, — he trusted Nico to deal with any threat he might encounter while standing in the open— he decided to try something new.

He could do this one of two ways. He could create so much friction with the water molecules above that he could generate lightning and send it to wherever he wanted with pinpoint accuracy. Or, he could attempt to use his powers as the son of the storm bringer to attempt to bring down a lightning bolt, purely called forth by his power.

Well, Percy wagered the first option would be pretty easy, so he decided to try the latter first.

It was twenty seconds of awkward concentration later that Percy felt a small twitch in his gut, and a lightning bolt dropped somewhere over Brooklyn. Trying again, he was met with similar results. It was four more tries and about thirty seconds later that he finally landed a hit on one of the flying pieces of metal that was thousands of feet in the sky.

Satisfied that he'd just need to practice with it more, Percy switched his tactic.

Remembering what he was taught in some science class probably in middle school about how lightning was created, he rubbed the molecules of water together as rapidly as he could inside the cloud, satisfied when he saw a gigantic lightning bolt rip through the clouds above him with a deafening clap of thunder.

Lightning was similar to water in that it would choose the path of least resistance, no matter how silly the path seemed. After all, it was just energy moving from an area of high density to low.

Testing his theory, Percy chose a path for his experiment, one he was performing in the middle of a battle, mind you, which was a strange path along the clouds above them. It had several entirely straight parts, and some where it went back and forth. Creating friction along the path he chose, but not enough to make lightning, he then created as much friction as he could at where he wanted the origin point to be.

There was another incredibly bright burst of light, and then a very loud clap of thunder. Lightning covered the sky in the exact pattern Percy had envisioned, and then some. It seemed laying out its path for it made it lose less energy as it continued.

Finally satisfied with his new technique, he set out a path to where he could feel, but not see, each of the jets beginning to turn towards where the battle was happening to make a gun run.

Feeling just a bit dramatic, Percy snapped his fingers, and with the loudest crack of thunder yet, the Blue Falcon squadron went down in flames, every one of their pilots immediately being sent to Hades.

* * *

Airman First Class Phillips fired his rifle at the massive horde of undead making their way towards his position. He knew it was only a matter of time before they overran them, just as they had overrun every previous position. There were just too many of them to effectively counter attack. There weren't so many that they would never run out, but they sure as hell wouldn't run out before they made it the few hundred yards to his position.

A hundred feet or so to his left on the sidewalk stood a teenager - more specifically, the teenager who had declared himself the ruler of whatever the hell had happened to Manhattan. It was hard to tell because of how much armor he was wearing, but the face and stature of Perseus Jackson had been etched into every American's memory — especially the soldiers.

The target was tempting, but when his platoon sergeant had attempted to take the opportunity, a wraith had appeared out of shadow before he could so much as fully lift his rifle, and he had been bisected. Bisected.

Phillips had learnt his lesson, thank you very much.

Dodging back around the corner of the building he was hiding behind, he resumed his conversation with their air support. "That's a solid copy Blue Falcon Actual, say again target description is fuck all horde of undead, target in the open on Broadway, friendlies danger close, recommended vector south east to north west, approximate bearing three two zero, over."

The call for close air support was incredibly informal, but it was just about the best he could do right now. All of his less sturdy equipment had been rendered useless when the wave hit (he was still soaking wet) and the target was fairly obvious. He figured the giant horde of undead was something they could see even three miles up.

"Solid copy, standby for ordinance" came the response.

Philips breathed a sigh of relief. He had been one of those that initially wanted to surrender once he saw the river start floating of its own volition, but that was no longer an option. It was fight or die with the horde of undead coming at him.

Earlier, he had to admit that he'd been a bit scared when he heard that one of their jets went down to a bolt of lightning, but a few minutes had passed since then, and nothing had happened. It was difficult weather, after all. Things like that were bound to happen.

Lightning had sporadically peppered the clouds since then, and every time it did Philips flinched, and sent a glance to the teen just standing there a hundred feet away, staring at the sky.

"Havoc 4 Juliett, this is Blue Falcon actual, we're curre-" Philips watched as Perseus shifted his stance, as if satisfied, and snapped his fingers. Immediately after, there was a bright flash from the sky behind him, and a staggering clap of thunder. The air wing he was on the radio with was immediately cut off.

"Blue Falcon actual, this is Havoc 4 Juliett, come in, over!"

Philips tried over and over to reach any Blue Falcon element, but time and time again he failed, only receiving static.

But even as his position was overrun and the undead ripped him to pieces, his helmet cam sent everything he saw and heard back to The Pentagon, where a small group of command staff watched in awe.

* * *

The rest of the battle was bloody and difficult.

Twenty some thousand undead had made good enough bullet sponges to get them to their initial objective, the other side of Brooklyn. But after that, cyclops and mortals were dying left and right as their inexperienced leadership overextended themselves during a push toward Queens. Things had got more messy than any of them had appreciated.

The US doctrine was significantly based on having air and naval superiority in basically every conflict they entered, as well it should. They were the most powerful mortal fighting force the world had yet seen. But it didn't help when fighting against the elements themselves.

More than once Nico had had to call forth small batches of undead to fend off the troops in a small area; small batches being in the low thousands of course.

The Olympian army had been slogging through the army occupying south Brooklyn for about two hours when Percy had an idea.

There was no need for them to fight the American soldiers. Percy certainly didn't expect the U.S. army to run out of troops anytime soon, and any further fighting would only serve to kill both his men, and his future soldiers once America inevitably capitulated.

Taking a drachma out of his pocket, Percy created a rainbow in the middle of the air where he was standing. Trusting once again that Nico would deal with any threats to him, he tossed the drachma into the rainbow.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, reveal yourself to me."

As the rainbow shimmered and slowly turned into the image of an intrigued Iris, Percy smiled lightly at Fleecy trying to wave to him in the background.

"What can I do for you this time Percy?" she asked.

Percy shrugged, "Same thing honestly. I need to send out a message to the soldiers I'm currently fighting against. Can you do that?"

Iris sent back a devious smile. "Oh, Percy, how you hurt me so. Of course I can. You want to be transmitted now?"

At Percy's nod, the image shimmered again, and Percy found himself looking at a general mirage of thousands of faces, no single one distinguishable.

Concentrating the hardest he had so far today, a deafening crack of thunder ran out across the battlefield. It was preceded by a chain of lightning which arced across the sky in every direction.

Momentarily, fighting stopped. Mythological beings and mortals alike stared into the sky in wonder for several seconds at the phenomenon.

"Soldiers of the United States. You have fought valiantly, but now it is time to lay down your arms. The fighting will cease, and I will allow you to leave Long Island unimpeded by my forces. There is no point to the meaningless death and damnation of those that fall here today, as you will all serve the gods eventually. Those of you that have been convinced of the reality of your situation may stay and take up arms for the empire. Those of you that continue to fight will be eliminated and sent to the fields of punishment for an eternity of damnation."

Percy steeled his expression. "Make no mistake, this will be my last act of mercy to those who take up arms against the will of the gods. Choose wisely."

With a thought, the cloud of mist disappeared from in front of him and the message was disconnected.

He turned to Nico. "Inform the frontline officers, hold their advance for fifteen minutes, and then resume. Also, we'll have a lot of spies in our army after today. I want you to make sure they are all removed before our next invasion."

"At once, Your Majesty." Percy could see only the ghost of a smile on Nico's lips as he bowed slightly. Percy would get both him and Annabeth one of these days.

HR

"Report."

"The battle has turned out far better than expected, sir. U.S. forces were ordered to retreat across the bridge off of Long Island, and just over one hundred have stayed behind to support us. Of course, far more likely wanted to, but would be called traitors and shot. We are on schedule to resume our assault on the rest of Long Island by tomorrow afternoon if we expect well rested and organized soldiers. Command staff will resume planning immediately,"

Percy was getting a report from Darlton, the recently promoted Colonel after the tainted victory of Brooklyn.

"Good. Find quarter for our men, you have my permission to seize civilian housing for the time being. See to it those you displace have a place to stay tonight if you can."

Percy turned away.

He was reminded of how tired he was of all the fighting. Couldn't the gods have given him just a month's break, or something? He had been perpetually fighting a war for the last six years of his life. He was just about done with war.

Percy needed a way to end the upcoming battles with one fell swoop. But how? For the new nation he had built to be self sufficient, it needed time to build. He couldn't ask Annabeth to build him a government that would end up governing the world when she was planning battles every damn day.

Hell, he couldn't develop his own abilities until they had a break. He couldn't think of ideas to improve or develop the empire, much less act on them. Nor could he train up a full, proper, army. With uniforms, and rifles, that actually knew how to fight. He needed a full, sovereign nation to do those things.

And so Percy decided he was done with war soon. Surely those in Washington would have seen what he could do by now. They couldn't call his bluff at this point. It was all over the internet, despite it being mere hours after the battle. The things they did today couldn't be hidden if they wanted it to. So standing right there, Percy determined he would be heading to Washington soon.

First, Long Island would need to be captured. But afterwards, Percy would show up on the President's doorstep, with an army if need be.

Percy turned back to the still attentive Darlton.

"I'll be heading back to Manhattan the day after tomorrow. I expect that Long Island be united under our banner by the time I leave. Dismissed." Percy didn't need to say anything else, and with a crisp salute Darlton was gone.

He found it was easier to slip into the persona of the ruler of a country when he wasn't speaking to anyone he knew. Not that he knew many people anymore. Gods, the funerals were another thing he would have to take care of. He hadn't had time to properly mourn in any capacity, and he guessed neither had any of the other survivors.

The vanguard would be moving back with him to Manhattan, then. Hades, he didn't even know who all had died. He was certain there would be many familiar names. Camp was his home, and hundreds of his family had died days ago, and he hadn't so much as bothered to find out who.

Percy struggled to resist the urge to punch the wall in front of him, as he knew it would break, but he couldn't stop the bursting of the pipes throughout the building he was currently in.

His patience was pushed to its limit when the same daughter of Hermes from a few days ago arrived at his floor, and hurriedly walked up to him.

"Your Majesty. An urgent message from New Rome," she handed him a paper, which had presumably been carried across the country by a giant eagle.

He unfolded it and began reading.

FOR THE EYES OF PERSEUS JACKSON ONLY

Ave Imperator,

I am writing on behalf of Praetor of New Rome Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. The Consul of New Rome, Jason Grace, is dead.

Percy let his hand holding the paper fall, and stared into the wall in front of him.

Why was the question at the top of his mind. Why did even more of his friends have to die? Why did he have to be born a demigod? Why did he have to be the only demigod to be the subject of two great prophecies? Why did he have to be the subject of ANY prophecies? Why was he seen as the leader, that he had to be born to the blood of Poseidon?

Percy didn't want to lose any more of his friends. Percy didn't want to be responsible for any more loss of life. He didn't want to order anyone else to their death. This time he did punch the wall, and felt satisfaction at the hole he punched through it. And then he punched again, and again, and again, until there wasn't any wall in front of him left to punch. It was easier to deal with anger than grief, after all.

He turned on the girl who had delivered the message. "Out." He spat. She immediately turned on her heel and vacated the room.

Taking more time to collect himself, he began to read the rest of the letter.

Until you designate a replacement for Consul Grace, Praetor Avila Ramirez-Arellano will take charge of all Roman affairs. She requests you to appoint a replacement with haste. As for the outcome of the operation, we can report that the invasion of San Francisco was a sound success. So far, our occupation has not met with trouble. Our contacts have been effectively running the local government since the invasion, and all plans for expansion and consolidation are underway.

Ave Imperator,

Lacey Green, Primus Pilus

Percy clenched the paper in his hand. Through the hole in the wall he had made, he could see the storm outside intensifying, lightning falling with increasing and frightening frequency, and the winds brooming to record-breaking speeds.

He didn't need to turn to know Nico was behind him.

"Percy, you need to calm down," Nico told him coolly.

Percy crumpled the paper and tossed it in the direction of his new window.

The pressure difference sucked it out and he grunted as it joined the debris flying outside.

"I'm fucking sick of it, Nico." Percy smashed his fist into the table, barely holding back his strength so it wouldn't break. "Give me a reason I shouldn't go to Washington right now and start killing until someone ends this war."

"Percy," Nico said, his voice quieter but with the same seriousness. He stepped forward, almost placing a hand on Percy's shoulder before obviously reconsidering. "You need to control yourself and calm down. I know it—"

Percy sent him a sharp look. "You of all people should understand, Nico. What the gods, fate, has done to me. Us. I'm about ready to burn the whole thing down. Most of our friends here are now dead. Now I'm told Jason is too and who knows how many others from New Rome! So tell me, by the fucking gods, why I should fucking calm down?!"

A clap of thunder could be heard in the distance, but Percy ignored it.

Nico matched his glare — the first time he'd done so in a very long time. "Because then you'll be like the gods. You're acting just like it, damn it! You're here, throwing a temper tantrum because things aren't going your way. And because of it, you're throwing your anguish and pain onto others. Innocent people."

Nico gestured outside.

Percy didn't want to but he followed Nico's pointed look.

Outside was a mess. From his position at the top of the building, he could see the effect his 'temper tantrum', as Nico had put it, was having on the city.

He saw destruction. Rain poured from the sky and water surged in from the Atlantic, flooding and destroying buildings near the coast. Those further from the seafront fell victim to sporadic lightning strikes setting fire to their homes. The buildings lucky enough to avoid the waters and lightning were being torn down by the tornado level winds rushing through the city.

Percy was destroying the city, and likely half the eastern seaboard.

Percy took a deep breath.

This wasn't what he was. This wasn't what he wanted to become. He didn't want to be like the Olympians, leveling an entire city because of some bad mood. Nico was right and with effort, he let go of all the stresses that were boiling within him while bottling what he couldn't, away.

He thought about Annabeth and the future he wanted to build with her. He thought about the days after the Titan War, where he, Grover and Nico hung out. He thought about his mom bringing home candy from work when he was little and the time she first taught him how to bake. He thought about all the days where at camp, even with the Great Prophecy looming, there were nights where he and his fellow campers would relax, singing songs and telling stories around the campfire, and starting food fights to the dismay of Chiron and the cleaning harpies.

A little corner of his mind whispered how many less friends he had now. He added those thoughts to the other bottled emotions he wasn't ready to address right now.

The winds outside slowed. And with it, the rushing in his blood.

He collapsed back into his desk chair, letting out a breath with such finality, it felt like he'd been holding it for hours. "Thanks."

Nico shook his head "It's my job. But promise me you'll take a vacation the second you have the chance."

Percy threw his head back and laughed, taking his mind off the anger that was boiling within him. He would have time for feelings later. "I was thinking the same thing, trust me."

And like that the raging storm before Nico had changed to a tranquil lake.

Nico extended a hand. "Let me take you back to Manhattan, just for tonight. You can relax in a real bed, see Annabeth."

Percy stared at the hand hesitantly, his moment of cheer slipping away. Nico's offer was tempting. To see Annabeth, to be able to sleep in his own bed. His thoughts rearing to a halt. When had he started considering his bed to be the one at the Empire State Building?

His thoughts shifted. If he went, would he have the will power to return here? If he went to Annabeth—and took the night off—would he have the strength to return to his post on the war front? It'd be damn tempting to run away; to leave the military to the mortals and this war to the gods.

He accepted Nico's hand anyway.


	8. Chapter VIII: A Government

**Beta'd by PraetorFable**  
 **Co-Written by Vanadium Oxide**

Chapter VIII

The Twenty Fifth of May

Nineteen Days A.B.M

Percy opened his eyes that morning to a sight more welcome than it had any right to be. The ceiling was a newly familiar grey, the bed was a newly familiar comfort, and the blonde hair on his chest was as welcome as it had been for months.

Percy turned his head to check the clock just next to his bed. 5:43; Seventeen minutes before he was expected in Brooklyn to direct the invasion of the rest of Long Island, and that meant Nico had been alert and waiting for him to get back for a good hour and forty-three minutes now. Percy sighed. He really, really did not want to leave his warm bed and his loving girlfriend, but he also needed some time to collect himself before he was commanding armies. He had never been an early bird, and any drowsiness he had was bound to get someone killed.

Shuffling himself out from underneath his lover, he left her loving embrace and the warm comfort of his pillows behind to get dressed and head to Brooklyn.

He didn't bother with a shower, as he would be fighting in a few minutes anyway. It was a matter of tossing on some clothes, brushing his teeth, and grabbing a stale protein bar—courtesy of the U.S. government—for breakfast, before he was ready to get out through the door.

As he expected, Nico was waiting outside of his door, hand on the pommel of his sword while he leaned against the wall leading to his and Annabeth's bedroom. He had no doubt that Nico had replaced the guards once he had arrived.

No words were needed between the duo. Nico wouldn't take any apologies. His entire purpose now was to make things as convenient as possible for Percy, and he hadn't exactly asked him to be waiting for him so long, nor would he take an admonishment for going so far for his convenience. It was one of the only things he had found he was good at, and he would keep doing it.

So, grabbing Nico's arm, the two shadow traveled across New York City and into their regional headquarters in Brooklyn.

The trip through the shadows was enough to shake Percy up from his lethargy, and he shook his head in alertness as soon as they stepped out from the corner.

The place was flooded, a few inches of seawater layering the floor, a remnant of his episode last night. His socks felt cool, his footsteps created a slush as he barged into the offices.

As much as he was a fan, walking through muck wouldn't do wonders for their precarious morale. So, with a single thought, the water receded out of the building, into the streets and back out to sea. Feeling generous, he gave a second thought, commanding water across the city which had flooded basements and shops last night to recede back to the Atlantic.

Officers across the room looked down, surprised at the water suddenly receding beneath them, everything instantaneously drying. One officer jumped, noticing his and Nico's presence, immediately calling attention.

Every body in the room snapped to attention, dozens of experienced soldiers and war heroes stopping whatever they were doing, standing with backs rigidly still and eyes straight forward. All for a teenager.

The novelty had worn off for Percy long ago.

"Carry on," he dismissed with a wave of his hand, moving to where he saw his command staff standing around a table with a map of Long Island spread across it. A few markers were spread throughout the map, made up of whatever they could scrounge up...

"Sir." Darlton nodded to him as soon as he arrived at the table, interrupting Clarisse, who would no doubt go on a tangent about what had happened last night in a bout that would force him to remove her from the room in an episode that would not only embarrass him, but make him seem weak. He inwardly thanked Darlton.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Ferraro. He was in charge of coordinating with the lower leadership last night and this morning, so I figured I would let him lead the briefing this morning, if that's alright with you," he continued.

At Percy's nod, Ferraro spoke up, his voice a raspy whisper.

"Sir, we have minimal casualties compared to what we expected from yesterday, and most of our men are rearing to go. We estimate that, provided ammunition, we should be able to field an additional 1,200 men at barebones capacity with captured equipment, as well as a company sized mechanized element and a platoon of motorized support."

Ferraro, paused, with slight hesitation. "There is, however, the situation with our men station in the east—" He pointed toward their fortifications in the neighborhoods of Howard Beach, near JFK Airport. "—Our men have taken off-and-on fire from light IDF, that is, Indirect Fire, sir. Or artillery. It is likely they don't want to risk hitting the civilian population, but this fire will still increase the risk of our units in the area until addressed. Another thing to bring up, we haven't been able to completely sweep the area behind us, so it is likely there is some form of hostile element. That being said, if we wish to push anytime soon, we will have to leave our flank exposed for now, and deal with it tomorrow, after we have presumably secured the island."

Apparently finished with his brief, he left Percy in silence to look at the map. After a few, long seconds, Percy matched Darlton's expecting gaze. "How many men do they have?"

Darlton frowned for a second. "We have nowhere near enough sightings for an accurate number. Scouting estimates they might have had a division total on Long Island, and we pushed the vast majority of their forces south... Likely not much more than three thousand men."

Percy nodded.

"Then we will only have the undead and our mortal soldiers fighting in this battle. I will be sending Atlantis' army home, they've done more than enough. I will be heading back to Manhattan tomorrow; my vanguard with me. I have a task for them that they need to be well rested for. Promise our men two day's break after they secure Long Island, and Nico—" he looked behind him, "—get word to Annabeth to multiply the size of our mortal police force tenfold. We will need numbers to garrison Long Island."

He turned back to the table, with a frown. "Now here's what I'm going to do..."

* * *

Kill. Fight. Die. That's what a soldier should do.

Percy repeated the mantra in his head as he carved his way through hundreds.

Percy would regret it later, he was sure. Taking so many lives first hand was nothing short of horrifying. Sure, he had killed before, of course, but he wasn't raised to be a killer, not like he was now.

Percy was sure he would spend sleepless nights thinking about the lives he took, about how many futures he had snuffed out like they were nothing. He was sure he would awake in a cold sweat from nightmares about this very moment, perhaps dozens of times.

But right now, he didn't care. He couldn't let himself care, else the battle turn even messier.

Percy roared, needing something to take out his frustration on. He swung left, right, and then ran straight through a display window for some old boutique. Glass shards sprayed into the room, and whatever unfortunate soldier that had been hiding in there was subsequently hacked until they were split in two. Percy was completely covered in blood—or maybe the blood was already on him.

Probably the latter.

And then there was a movement on the stairs to his right, but that was before Nico had taken their head off, and added their soul to his blade's collection.

And then there was a bullet racing at him, but that was before moisture from the air had surrounded it and stopped it in its tracks, sending it back through the eye of the soldier who had fired it.

There was another spray of bullets, but that was before shadow swallowed them. Percy didn't see what had happened to the 18 year old that had fired the barrage, but Nico usually took care of it the same way anyway, so what was the point in watching anymore.

The rest of the day was much more of the same, a spray of bullets aimed at him everywhere he went.

One time Percy walked into an alley, where there was a gun soon after pointing at him out of every window. But that was before Percy had hidden the alley from the eyes of the divine, and before their blood evaporated inside of them.

Percy had even one time been stared down by 3 tanks, with large guns and depleted uranium armor plating and a team of highly trained men inside of them. But that was before a lightning bolt the size of a house had come to strike each one of them a second later.

Quite honestly, Percy was bored.

He had riled himself up, brought out some of the anger he had felt the night before, only to face nothing that truly deserved a drop of his attention. Millions of people were worshipping the gods now. Millions were worshipping his father. Millions were probably worshipping him as a deity at this point, and that number had only doubled with their occupation of Brooklyn. Compared to setting off a volcano, compared to holding the sky, compared to bathing in the Styx, this was nothing. These were mortals, and there was a reason his kind had always seen them as inferior, not even worth their time. Letting out his anger with a grunt, Percy let a lightning bolt fall on the building in front of him, lighting it up with a fire and burning every living thing inside it to a crisp.

Deciding he was already bored of this, Percy concentrated on expanding his senses. Getting a sense of what side people were on by what direction they were facing, he assumed everyone in the same building not beating the hell out of each other were friends, and that everyone holding a gun was a combatant.

He was sure he would mix some up, but at this point what was a bit of friendly fire? If he didn't do this, more of his men, more civilians would die anyway in the long run, right? What did it matter who did it, if less of them died.

Deciding he'd need his crown for this to be as effortless as he'd like, he tapped it to bring it out of it's necklace state and briefly disconnected the entirety of Long Island from the sight of the gods, Percy clenched his right hand into a fist.

And all of a sudden, there was a lot less shooting.

* * *

Percy marched back to Manhattan at the head of a column of more than 300 armored soldiers. The sky was overcast and thundering, as it had been since their initial invasion.

As they reached the other side of the bridge which led to Manhattan, Percy allowed himself to focus on civilian life here for the first time.

The streets of Manhattan had begun to come to life once more, some sense of community re-emerging, as people became more acquainted with their new reality. Neighborhoods throughout the city, the ones least damaged in the taking of the city, were beginning to open up again, makeshift stores and stalls selling rations, luxuries and other goods. It was all by bartering, money was as useless as sand, but it was still some facet of an economy. It seemed food was the main basis of common currency—anything that wasn't being supplied by the rations the US government was shipping in for them would've most definitely grown in stock price. Anyone would accept food for an item, and were confident they could get any item they wanted for food in turn.

As Percy came nearer to the island with his vanguard at his back, movement in the street slowly ceased. The loud, rhythmic marching of hundreds of soldiers at his back, marching in sync drew attention. Those in front of him quickly realized that they were taking up the entire street, and scurried to move out of the street before they were run over by the divine army before them.

By the time Percy actually got to the street, the make-shift stalls were emptied, sidewalks clearing quickly in front of him.

Percy strolled through the silent streets of Manhattan, with his guard at his back all the while. The civilians were silent out of reverence, or fear, or perhaps just to not break the silence. Whatever the reason, Percy didn't really care. They were out of the way, and that was all that mattered. He hadn't taken off his crown after the battle, deciding it was a good time to make its debut. He would need one anyway hypothetically, and he might as well be wearing his crown full time—it's power was hidden, after all.

Eventually he ran into somebody that wasn't able to get out of their way in time. A small child sat in the middle of the street crying, a worn down and dirty stuffed animal in one hand. An orphan. Or maybe their parents were elsewhere, or too scared to interrupt the silence or step in front of him. Regardless, he didn't really care. He just wanted the damn child out of his way.

Percy remembered the words Nico had said to him. You're becoming like the gods. And Percy realized, yeah, he was kind of being an asshole.

There had been a lot of cops in New York City, and an uncounted number more civilians that had died in the crossfire during their initial invasion. That did not even include the fiasco he had wrought upon the eastern seaboard last night. It was more than likely Percy had been the one to kill her parents, if they were dead.

He thought back to the speech he gave to every one of the people on the side of the street right now. That he was just one of them. A New Yorker, Manhattan born and raised.

When did that stop being true?

When Percy reached the small crying girl, he stopped and crouched down. Immediately, the synchronized steps behind him ceased.

"Hey," he spoke softly. The girl sniffed. "It's alright, don't cry."

He reached out and brushed some of the tears from her face with the back of his hand. Picking her up gently, he walked over to the side of the street where there were thousands of people far too crowded for anything that could be comfortable.

Handing her to a rather kindly looking man somewhere in his 30s, he looked into his eyes. "Make sure she is taken care of," he commanded.

And his will be done.

Walking back to the middle of the street, he continued walking towards the Empire State Building, the sound of marching soldiers resuming behind him.

* * *

When Percy reached the Empire State Building, he dismissed his vanguard to return to their barracks, with a note to Clarisse that he would need them ready the next morning. A few dozen stayed behind to secure the building and act as his security while he was here, but the rest continued marching down the street to their barracks area on the west side of Manhattan.

The entire military had been sent to Long Island the day prior via invasion, however when Percy walked in, backs still stiffened. Almost every eye was on him as soon as he walked in, and yet nobody said a word. At least one advantage of being in charge was that wherever he went, people tended to be quiet.

As he continued to the elevator, a single administrator standing in the lobby had an idea.

They bowed.

Like dominoes, the rest of those in the lobby started to either reluctantly or zealously bow, some getting on their knees. Percy expected that now that he had a crown things would become a bit more formal, but to be honest he didn't expect this.

Quickly stepping into an elevator, he was joined by several of his vanguard while most of the rest stood outside, not daring to overcrowd the elevator their ruler was in. Those that had made it in stood along the walls rigidly at attention and matter-of-factly and out-of-the way as possible.

Deciding to let Annabeth know he was back, he pressed the button for her floor, standing relaxed as the elevator slowly ascended.

When it did finally open he stepped out to a mostly familiar sight. Annabeth's floor was bustling with activity; papers were rustling, people shuffling about as meetings were held on the fly, and just general progress was being made.

Percy once again silenced the room as soon as he stepped out into the hall. Two of his vanguard trailed him while the rest went elsewhere, likely to secure his personal floor or some such thing.

Percy silently thanked whichever god was responsible when nobody bowed on his way over to Annabeth's office. Obviously, news from the first floor hadn't reached here yet, but that would change soon. This might be the last room that Percy entered where everyone didn't bow to him instantly and he decided to cherish it.

Giving a light knock before he walked in, Percy entered Annabeth's office, where he found her looking dishevelled, busy at work. His guards started to enter the room with him before he waved them off, and they took positions outside the door.

"I thought I told you, we can't prioritize anyone for rations, much less-" Annabeth cut herself off as their gazes met.

He gave her a teasing smile. "Having some trouble?"

She let out a small sigh as the door closed behind him. "A bit, if I were to be honest. There's so much stuff to deal with. I never thought I'd say it, but it's really—it's too much."

Percy frowned "Is there anything I can do to help? We can release your siblings from the vanguard now that it's established if it would help. Or we can increase recruitment..."

"Percy, I'm fine, really. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. The only problem is trusting anyone with any of this stuff. I mean, how am I supposed to trust some random woman with writing our entire judicial system, and another one with the distribution of food while I write up our executive branch? It's just too short notice. The gods asking us to create a government meant to become a world superpower in a matter of weeks... It's actually impossible."

Percy felt a vaguely interested divine presence or two at the mention of the gods and tensed, before deciding he wanted this to be a private conversation, and forcing their consciousness out of the room.

He let his face harden into a more serious expression "Is the issue loyalty, or competence?.."

She drooped over the desk; a hand running through her hair. "I wish it was that simple. Sure, there are few people I can trust to be capable enough to run things. There are even fewer I can trust to be loyal to our—the gods' cause. But that's not really—I know there are people out there that can be those things, but I can't—"

Percy breathed out, realizing he'd been holding it in. He should have foreseen this, he knew her, for god's sake. She was too much of a perfectionist, she'd dreamed of building the world by her own hand since she'd been little. Of course, now with the opportunity to act out her childhood dreams, it was hard to take a step back.

It wasn't that she couldn't trust that there were people out there who could do a good enough job, it was that she trusted that she could do the best job. If she didn't personally have a hand in it, it would've never been good enough.

Sitting on the one corner left of the desk not covered in paperwork, he took her hands into his, before bending closer, leaning into her eyes. "Wise Girl, these people are here to help us. To be honest, the only reason we have any army anymore is because I'm too tired of fighting, so they do it for me."

She looked at him with slightly widened eyes. That was a bit haughty for what she was used to from him.

"If it's to have someone, or even a team to draft things up for you for hours, only to have them restart because there's something they'd missed, then do so. And if you really feel like it's beginning to take more time to tell them how to do it than just finishing it yourself, then do that. But these people, most of this entire building, is here for the sole purpose of making your life easier, they're here to be delegated work. Let them help you, supervise them harshly if you must, but we cannot expect to have you do all of this alone."

How had he not realized sooner? Not noticing—not even considering—Annabeth to be as stressed about this situation as he? It was possibly even worse for her, she didn't have someone here like Nico who she could have absolute trust in getting things done right, someone she could confide in. The closest person to that role for Annabeth was Piper, but she was in California, helping Reyna in San Francisco...

He leaned back from her desk, letting her hands slip from his own. They were in this together.

"I will have to head out tomorrow to finish this war," Percy told her, holding her arms tight. He would be ending the war tomorrow, if everyone goes according to plan. It would involve a lot of fighting, a lot of killing. "And then—"

"Stay." Annabeth cracked. "Their invasion can wait, you need a break."

"The longer this war persists, the worse off it is for everyone."

"Even more people will suffer if we don't have a proper system to maintain order, Percy" Annabeth argued, before separating from him. "Here, please. I've actually been working on something I need you to take a long look over. At least give it a glance."

It was an excuse; an excuse to not have to immediately get back down into the war room and consult with his strategists. An excuse to worry about something else, besides the blood he was going to shed tomorrow.

Percy looked down at the paper, which was typed out in small English font, and made a face as the words started doing backflips over each other.

She let out a sigh of exacerbation. "I figured you wouldn't really read it, so I'll explain it to you. It's my proposal for our working government, and will need to be implemented or scratched as soon as possible, especially if you're planning on annexing the entire United States government into our current system. Millions of people would starve if we took over the government tomorrow, and that would be the least of our worries."

He thought about it for a second, before deciding that she had a point. As much as he wanted this war to just be over with already, at least for a bit, he did agree that it wouldn't do any good 'convincing' the US government it would be a better idea for him to be in charge if he didn't actually have a working bureaucracy.

He nodded his consent for her to continue, and she let out an almost unheard sigh of relief.

"Well, we'll need, first and foremost, a congress, parliament, or some sort of legislative body that is able to govern and that the people could accept. Actually, I've drawn some inspiration from what the British had in place before the nobility and crown had their real power revoked. The way I've laid it out—" She pointed to a set diagrams with handwritten so small, it hurt Percy's brain to even look at it, "—is that we could have something of a House of Commons, representative of, and elected by, the people; A lower house that writes and drafts up laws. Then there will be something like the House of Lords, an upper house that receives bills to pass and will be made of people based on lineage. Only instead of nobles, it'll be us demigods, and legacies; those with immortal blood."

Annabeth then pulled out a few more papers.

"This is the part I need a second input on. I had first considered possibly a seat per-godly parent like how we have it in camp. The leader of each cabin could just have a seat, but then certain seats will end up being empty and Camp Jupiter has a command system not based on parentage. So instead, we could have it so that just about every demigod or legacy could have a seat if they wanted it. This would ensure we have a large divine presence in the government, but then how loose or strict should I make requirements? Will there be a vetting process where others in the House vote on entry or if any demigod could join?

"...Then, if it's approved by them, it goes to you—or because I have no illusion that you will have the patience to read or care about any laws that are passed through the system—anyone you choose. Or you can choose to remove yourself from the process entirely, until you decide you want to veto something. The point being, you have complete executive authority, dwarfing even that which the British monarchs had in their prime. After all, you have divine authority."

Percy let out a long sigh at the end of her explanation. He understood only about half of it, but it was a valid reason for him to stay here, at least for a couple days. After all, they hadn't completely solidified her position as his public face quite yet. Their entire government system wouldn't be seen as legitimate if he wasn't the one rolling it out.

Finally, Percy nodded. As much as he just wanted to end it all in a divine show of force, he had to admit that it wouldn't be the best decision. He leaned over her desk to give her a peck on the lips.

"Alright. I'll put off the next assault, if you really think it's for the best. Our men still need more training before we head out, after all." He gave her a trademark smirk.

Percy turned and opened the door out of her office, walking towards the elevator. His vanguard followed dutifully behind him, keeping stride with the young monarch.

* * *

He relaxed in the elevator, flanked by four of his vanguard. The security was a bit overboard in his opinion, Percy could snap his fingers and disintegrate anyone this side of Olympus the second they decided to even try to pull out a weapon, and if for some reason he didn't feel like it, Nico was keeping tabs anyway. Nico was far too strong to not be able to extend his reach through most of the shadows in North America at this point.

Arriving at his next destination, Percy once again stepped out of the elevator. He walked through the hallways of the floor, peeking in every door he passed. This floor seemed mostly abandoned, until he came across a cluttered room.

It wasn't dirty, per se—there was no rotting food, or empty bags or wrappers. No dirty clothes lying across the floor, like you might have seen in Percy's room a month ago.

Rather, it was cluttered. Maps, trinkets, and boards with strange, unreadable symbols on them, different kinds of glowing rocks, and text written in ancient greek lay sprawled around in a semi-organized mess.

At a desk pressed up against a wall lay the sleeping form of a girl, breathing in and out softly. All in all, it looked like a crossover between a witches hut and a mad scientists laboratory.

He wasn't necessarily upset that she was sleeping in the middle of the day —though his guards looked a little miffed—after all, he hadn't exactly called ahead. But he wouldn't be coming back for her convenience, either.

So, stepping into the room, he loudly cleared his throat. It was punctuated by a particularly loud clap of thunder from outside.

Sasha woke with a start. She quickly noticed his presence and stood up, hastily attempting to fix her hair.

She almost fell over when she bowed. "Ah, your majesty. My apologies, I wasn't aware you would be visiting."

He waved it off. "I didn't come here because of how clean it is. How is everything?"

She stood from her bow and started sheepishly combing through her hair, before apparently deciding she was satisfied a moment later. "There's- there's so, so much. The possibilities are just endless. I knew my siblings had acquired a very large knowledgebase of magic, and spells. But I never thought that even in the thousands of years the Hecate cabin had been hoarding scrolls and texts that there'd be this much."

Percy smiled at the girl's enthusiasm.

"And have you found anything useful so far?" Percy winced at how tactless that sounded, but she didn't seem to so much as notice.

Her eyes lit up. "Yes! Yes, I've found so much. Not much I could do right now, but with time, and practice, some of the more simple stuff, I could start working on immediately. A spell to hide an area from the gods for a short time, for example, if that would be useful to you, your majesty."

Percy held in a chuckle. Of course, that spell was next to useless for him, but she didn't need to know that. After all, if she had told him about that spell just a couple months prior, it would have come in handy. But for now, it was useless.

"Please," he said. "Call me Percy."

He ignored his guard's shifting. In the end, he was going to have the dishevelled girl in front of him be the head of everything magic. She was his only real option as the last child of Hecate, and besides, he could tell there was something different about her. Something that made her stand out from the grey around her. Maybe it was something about her personality, or maybe it was just that she had oddly purple eyes like her mother, but either way he needed to have the head of a potentially integral branch loyal to him. It wouldn't do to force titles onto her.

"Percy. Okay." Even right after he'd given permission for her to use it, his guards still shuffled at her nonchalant way she had just addressed him. "I do have some more good news, though. So much of the stuff that's recorded or hinted at in these texts looks pretty powerful, even by godly standards. The only problem is that there was no threat to use them against, and some of the items required for them are across the planet. My siblings would have no way of getting them without a quest, which the oracle never decided was necessary to grant. There's more, too. There's so, so much more."

She began muttering to herself.

She stood perfectly still in front of him, but even now her eyes scoured her desk, reading and rereading the ancient texts sitting there. "If only I had time to read all of these," she whispered to herself, before catching herself and redirecting her attention to him. "I'll ah, I'll be able to read through all of these, I promise, and it'll take a long time to completely discover all this stuff, but I'll get it done, I swear!"

"Would more people help? I understand having this stuff to yourself would be nice, but at the very least having some people to sift through this stuff, and let you focus on the good stuff would be useful, right?"

She seemed reluctant to agree, nevertheless dipped her head. "Yes, more people would make it go faster, if that is what you would prefer."

She glanced at his guards skittishly. "There's one more thing, your majesty, that you might prefer to hear of now. It regards the location of a primordial artifact."

Percy froze.

"Out."

Percy's thoughts immediately turned to the crown sitting atop his head. A primordial artifact. This thing was in the proximity of a primordial, and it was the most power he had tasted in his life, even with ten million people worshipping him as a god.

Percy barely noticed as his slightly disgruntled guards shuffled out the door, and took positions outside it.

Noticing that an ear was pressed against the door outside, Percy without a thought cut off the blood flow to the man's brain. There was a loud thud beyond the door, and a shout, but Percy only rolled his eyes. The guard would live, probably with some acute brain damage, but he was already being merciful enough by not popping the man's head like a balloon. He did not have time for eavesdroppers.

"Tell me what you know."

Her eyes widened slightly at his shift in tone, and she shrunk in on herself slightly.

"There's a piece of the sword of Erebus in the mountains in Macedonia. Or, at least the old text I'm going off of said so. It's really not a big deal. Not especially enchanted or anything, I don't even think it'll be useful. I didn't mean to cause such a big fuss about it." She rubbed her arm and looked down.

He grabbed her chin to force her eyes to meet his newly hardened ones.

"Sasha. Swear yourself to me."

She recoiled slightly, surprised at his demand. But there was no reason to refuse. Her loyalty belonged to him, anyway. Who else would it belong to, the gods? Yeah, right. He had given her a chance. He had shown more kindness to her in the few days she had known him than any god had her entire life. So who cared if this was a bit shady? As long as she could keep delving into the secrets contained on her desk in service of him, she didn't care.

She slowly nodded. "What do I do?" she asked.

"Kneel." he commanded.

She knelt.

"Swear yourself to me on the Styx. That you will never betray me, that your loyalty, and you yourself belong to me."

He would never have demanded this under normal circumstances, but she had just made it clear this was no normal circumstance. The last thing he wanted to do was kill her, or permanently silence her in some creative way. But if she was to know about primordial artifacts… Nobody else could know. The only alternative was to be absolutely sure she would never betray him.

Sure, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had to be forced into this sort of thing with Nico not too long ago, but now he was pushing it onto someone else.

"I swear on the river Styx to obey Perseus Jackson. I will not betray him. My loyalty belongs to him. I belong to him. Mind, body, and soul."

Thunder roared outside.

Percy nodded, satisfied. It was binding.

"Good. When you have the exact location, give it to me personally. Nobody else hears about anything related to primordials. Scratch that. Nobody hears anything about what you do except me. You report straight to me. You may treat Nico as an extension of my will. Do whatever he tells you to as if it was me," he commanded, before turning to the door and beginning to leave.

"Oh, and Sasha? It's Percy." He smiled as a light rose tint covered her cheeks.

Opening the door and walking out, he was reminded that there were now only two guards by his door.

"You." He looked towards the one to his left. "Get that man to the medbay, place him under arrest. He attempted to eavesdrop on my conversation. And you." He looked over to his right. "Go to personnel, tell them I need 30 people to be assigned to this floor for arcane research."

With a chorus of "Yes, your majesty," they were off, and Percy headed towards the elevators to go to his floor so that he could get to some of the work that had piled up in his absence.

* * *

The elevator dinged, and Percy started to step off, before suddenly stopping.

"Can I help you?"

"Zeus wants to talk to ya'. Sorry, don't know what about." Percy could feel Hermes shrug from behind him in the elevator he had just occupied.

Letting out a sigh, he resigned himself to not getting a break. Percy stepped back into the elevator. He pulled out a golden keycard he now kept on him most of the time, inserting it into a slot just beside the floor numbers. Almost immediately, a button labelled '600' had popped up.

Sometime during this process, Hermes had vanished from behind him. But Percy didn't really care, he was too busy wondering what Zeus could be wanting to talk to him about. He couldn't come up with anything, aside from 'how're ya holdin' up, champ' which was about as likely as Kronos deciding the gods weren't so bad after all.

As Percy passed floor 230—not that the actual floor existed—Nico materialized from a shadow in the corner of the elevator.

Not that he necessarily needed to be there physically, but it felt right. He would feel naked walking into Olympus without Nico by his side. Nico had become a familiar constant at his side over the last couple months, not dis-similar to having Riptide in his pocket.

"The gods really have to update their music," Nico commented, straightening his jacket.

Percy huffed, just short of a chuckle.

They stood there, in silence, until finally, the elevator doors opened into Olympus.

Now, Percy had always thought Olympus was beautiful. He was no Annabeth, but you'd have to be blind to not recognize the sheer beauty of the city of the gods. Of course, after a dozen or so times, the novelty had worn off for Percy. When he was saving the world on a pretty much daily basis, and had to hike up here for meetings deciding if he'd die or not every now and then, it got old eventually.

But now, the beauty of the place floored him once again.

The last time he had been here there had been empty houses, crumbling shops, and torn roads. Olympus had been all but abandoned; A sad husk of its former self.

Now Olympus was more vibrant than he had ever seen it. Colors seemed to pop out at you wherever you looked, and everywhere you looked was an astounding display of beauty. Whether it was in the form of an aesthetically pleasing building, or an especially beautiful nature spirit or minor god walking around, everywhere you looked was beautiful. The grass was the greenest grass he had ever seen, and the water was crystal clear, looking like it had come from the fountain of youth.

Shaking it off, Percy continued down the streets of Olympus. He hadn't been told where Zeus wanted to meet him, so he would assume it was the throne room until he was told otherwise. He doubted Zeus wanted him in his palace, or something.

Percy enjoyed taking in the sights of Olympus on his way to the throne room... for all of about 10 seconds.

The moment someone noticed him there was a large wave of noise on the street.

Before, when he had saved them once, they bowed to him. Then, after he saved them again with the 7, they bowed again. And now he had saved them by leading divine forces against the mortals.

They bowed as he walked amongst them. Some of them were borderline groveling on the street.

Percy didn't know if they took notice of his crown. Either way, gods, spirits, and other immortals bowed to him as he walked through the streets of Olympus.

Now, Percy was never one much for pride. Sure, he was proud of a lot of things. He was generally proud of his accomplishments, he was proud of his friends, he was proud of his family, and he was proud of his abilities. But overall, he was not a prideful person. Being too prideful led to becoming arrogant. And once you were arrogant at his level of being a demigod, there was nothing to take you down from that level. Sure, your arrogance won't necessarily get you killed, but after coming out victorious time and time again and only feeding that arrogance, you would end up something like Heracles, which he definitely wanted to avoid.

That being said, Percy let his ego bask in the fact that a city full of gods was prostrating themselves to him. He'd be willing to bet he was the only one since Zeus to get that honor, and so he let himself bask in it for just a moment.

But when he reached the enormous throne room doors, his good mood went away. He would need to be on his A-game for whatever Zeus needed to talk to him about.

Normally the large celestial bronze doors were so heavy that his advanced demigod strength would have still struggled to push it open, but he knew now he could simply condense some water in front of the doors and push them open effortlessly, but he wanted to see how much stronger he had gotten since his announcement. He felt stronger, faster, tougher. But he hadn't quite had a time to test that out yet.

Walking up to the doors, he pushed them open with a small shove. He was pleasantly surprised that even with the light amount of pressure he exerted on the door they cleanly swung open.

After they struck the walls of the throne room with a loud CLANG Percy kept walking, until he reached the hearth.

Percy only had time to give the small form of Hestia a small smile before a bright, white supernova enveloped his vision.

Now, Percy couldn't describe it with words. Not really. Nothing this divine was meant to be described. Almost like a fire, one that was meant to be a secret kept from the mortals, to be a staple of divine superiority over mortals.

Percy honestly got why Dionysus's mother had been willing to die to gaze upon Zeus's divine form, whatever her name was. (Beryl, or something?)

Now, Percy wasn't exactly Zeus' number one fan. The only reason he wasn't one of the 'big bad guys' Percy had to take down was that Zeus was too powerful—not that a power level difference hadn't stopped Percy before—but the Master Bolt had the ability to quickly wipe humanity off the face of existence if Zeus so desired, newly acquired power or not.

2, Zeus was more or less letting Percy govern humanity how he deemed fit. He wasn't like Kronos, bent on enslaving humanity, nor Gaea wanting to restart the planet anew without people.

After this initial invasion, mortals would hopefully be spared. They'd have to be, the Olympians had initialized this take over was because they wanted mortals to worship them once more in mass. Some things might change with the Olympians no longer hiding, but he could hopefully return things to some semblance of normality. All the death and pain he had caused had been a blight on his conscience, but trying to take down Zeus wouldn't do anything about that.

Now all that being said, Zeus was one beautiful motherfucker.

His true form was more beautiful than everything he had ever seen put together. Mount Olympus, Thanatos, Aphrodite, whatever, paled in comparison to the true form of a god.

But then, it was over. In less than a millisecond Zeus' divine form was gone, and in his place was Zeus' mortal disguise. But Percy knew he could never look at a god the same way again.

"Perseus." Zeus rumbled once he appeared.

"Your majesty," Percy acknowledged with the tilt of his head, trying to blink the white spots out of his eyes.

Zeus grunted. Clearly, he would have preferred if Percy had kneeled before him or some such thing, but Percy honestly wasn't in the mood. What was Zeus gonna do, zap him to death? Then who would lead the demigods? Nobody short of Thalia was remotely strong enough, and it would be more than chaotic if he was suddenly replaced. As long as Percy didn't tell Zeus to fuck off to his face, his hands were more or less tied.

"Now that you have occupied Brooklyn, there lies the matter of the Egyptian Nome. If I'm not mistaken, you've already met it's old head, the current pharaoh of Egypt. They will begin to become discontent with the current set of events. Make sure they are not a problem."

Zeus was as warm and sunny as always. Well, that was more or less expected. Percy knew there were other gods, and figured they wouldn't be chill with sitting back and letting the Greeks have all the fun. At least he knew the pharaoh of Egypt. He wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting Carter again, considering what would be the circumstances, but he would probably (read; hopefully) be able to work something out with them.

Percy didn't get a chance to respond before, with another flash of supernova, Zeus was gone.

Percy let out a sigh for what seemed like the hundredth time today. Giving another smile to Hestia, who had sat poking the fire throughout the conversation, he turned towards the throne room doors to head to Brooklyn.

 **Apologies for the long delay. It was ready for rewrite and beta April 17, so you can blame Vanadium for the wait ;) (pls lynch him no me thx)**


	9. Chapter IX: A Constitution

_**Beta'd by PraetorFable  
Co-Written by VanadiumOxide**_

 _ **Chapter IX**_

 _ **The Twenty Fifth of May**_

 _ **Nineteen Days A.B.M**_

The elevator ride back down was uneventful. As always, he and Nico stood in silence. There was nothing for them to talk about. They both knew everything there was to know about the other's life at the moment to the point that small talk felt like a waste of energy.

As the elevator hummed its way down from Mount Olympus, Percy decided against stopping on Annabeth's floor. Talking with her about it would only add to the stress she was under now. Instead, they headed straight to the lobby.

As they stepped out, the response was as he expected. There was a lot of unnecessary grovelling and a halting of progress. Deciding he didn't want to wait longer than he needed to, Percy went to get the soldiers he would be taking with him to Brooklyn himself. He paid no mind to the two of his vanguard that followed him outside as he left.

Walking all the way to their military base on the west side of Manhattan took a while, but Percy felt like walking through the streets. As much as it disrupted local civilian life, Percy wanted to experience the streets of Manhattan.

Sometime during the trip, Nico had faded back into shadow. His physical presence was needed somewhere else at the moment, no doubt. Percy and Nico were powerful, _very_ powerful, but they weren't gods. They could only physically, with their actual bodies, be one place at a time.

Eventually he arrived at the one static military base they had. The vast majority of the military was still on Long Island doing clean up, so the base was barren, bar his vanguard. Most of them were resting, from what he could sense, though a few were pulling watch.

Percy met no resistance entering his own base, only bows and hails of 'Your Majesty' as he passed by. He quickly approached the nearest barracks he could see activity in.

Inside he saw more or less what he expected. Soldiers playing cards, talking, one or two dozing off, and some roughing around with each other.

The two guards who had followed Percy earlier stepped in before him, and called the room to attention as he entered.

The effect was immediate. One soldier shook awake his neighbor. But as one, every soldier in the room rose to their feet, back straight, standing in front of their bunks. Percy took a moment to observe them. Many of them were former military, or on reserve duty when Percy took over Manhattan, but many had yet to see war. They were drilled the hardest, and had to pass the most rigorous tests to enter the vanguard, but they were not battle tested—not yet. They had taken up the rear in every battle so far, because Percy hadn't seen a reason to lose his most elite troops as meat shields. That would have to change, only the strong and lucky would survive.

Percy halted his observations to speak up. "You all have two minutes to be in formation outside the tent. We have received a mission from his majesty Zeus."

Deciding that would suffice, Percy turned around and walked out of the barracks building, leaving the frantic ruffling and clanging of soldiers getting dressed behind.

Soon enough the squad was amassed in front of him, backs straight. And so, Percy marched toward Brooklyn, a squad of his guard at his back.

* * *

The twenty-first nome was situated on top of an abandoned industrial park on the banks of the East River. And by on top, he meant _on top_. His escorts, uninformed as he preferred to keep them be for the moment dutifully followed behind him as Percy began to scale a rusted fire escape on the north-side of the main building in the facility. Of course, when they reached the top, they saw nothing.

It took a moment of concentration for Percy's eyes to fixate on the large, luxurious mansion complete with dozens of balconies and a pool that lay before him; even with Percy's knowledge of the Egyptian base-of-operations in the region, its magic still resisted his eyes.

Percy gave his orders through a wave of a hand. _Fan out, but stay put._ A handful of his escorts gave him questioning looks, but nevertheless remained quiet and obedient, slowly fanning out on the ledges, securing their positions while others began setting up equipment. Even though they couldn't see it, his escorts were already subconsciously skirting around the mansion. If he were in a better mood, he might've chuckled.

Instead, he opted to stall no longer. He walked up and knocked.

It was only a few moments before anyone came to answer the door, but when it was, he was welcomed to see a familiar face. Sadie Kane's signature mischievous smile greeted him — for an entirety of two seconds. And then her eyes zeroed in on the squad of soldiers behind him, then up and the crown sitting on his head.

The magician let out a resigned sigh. "Come on in. I'll get Carter, but please, leave your pets outside, would ya'?"

Signalling for his guards to stay put, Percy tried for his own smile as he entered, even though the atmosphere between them had already soured. But despite the circumstances, the magical prodigy of the Kane family was a welcome sight to him. As much as he was dreading _why_ he was here to talk to Carter, it had been a long time since he'd been given a chance to catch up with the siblings.

There was a flurry of activity inside; a dozen or so times more busy than the last time he'd visited Brooklyn House. There were children running around, chasing each other, older kids running about in haphazard fashion to stop anyone from breaking anything, while some adults standing near a grand staircase talking over something he could tell was very serious. Overall, Brooklyn house seemed to be very active, and this was only the main room. Percy guessed he had only scratched the surface of what Brooklyn House had to offer.

He stood by the entryway, against the wall while he waited for Sadie to return. Luckily, it only took a few minutes, with Carter in tow, though those in the foyer had already noticed his presence—uncomfortable glances were thrown in his direction. He couldn't exactly blame them, though. His blood stained armor and intimidating crown didn't exactly make him approachable.

Percy shook Carter's extended hand when it was offered.

"Been a while, bro." Percy smiled at Carter.

Carter nodded back, a look of questioning reluctance reflecting in his eyes.

"I agree. It's been too long since we've been able to talk." He rubbed his hand on his chin in consideration, before nodding in the direction of the stairs. "Let us go find somewhere private."

The three ascended the stairs, where it was considerably more quiet. Carter led them briskly through the halls—much longer than what it'd look like outside—and passing by many residents of Brooklyn house. They walked with so much purpose, everyone they encountered moved out of their way. He suspected, even if these two weren't the leaders of the house, the attention would've still been well deserved. Carter was in his casual wear but with the crown on his head, and his crook and flail hanging from his waist to symbolize his position as pharaoh. Then it was Percy in full armor, half of it covered in blood, with a silver crown atop his head, and then Sadie, who looked like any normal teenage girl who had an odd fondness for combat boots. All in all, they were quite the sight.

When they eventually made it to a quieter spot, a comfortable lounge area with a great view of the East River, they all sat down.

Sitting himself down at one of the two couches, he directed his attention to Carter and Sadie.

"So," Carter spoke up. "What can we help you with?"

Percy shook his head. "No, what can I help _you_ with. I understand there might be some… ruffled feathers over on the Egyptian side of things, I'm just here to make sure that doesn't turn into some unfortunate decisions."

Carter let his face fall into a frown.

" _Unfortunate decisions?_ Percy, you've broken almost every intra-pantheon law since the death of King Hardrada. I'm having to convince my people back in Cairo that intervention would be a bad move, but honestly I'm being more and more convinced every day. So tell me Percy, why shouldn't we march on over to Manhattan and put an end to all this?"

Percy let out his own frown now. "Because it would end very poorly for you."

He hated how confident his own voice sounded in that moment. Even if it was a fact.

Carter scoffed. "The 21st Nome has been keeping track of the events in Manhattan _very meticulously_. We know that you only have a handful Greek demigods left, and the Romans have their own issues in California to deal with. So tell us, how the House of Life, the strength of hundreds of Nomes, would find it a poor decision?"

Percy leaned forward with purpose. "You forget, that even at their peak, your gods were only worshipped by a handful million people. And until two years ago, they'd been banished for thousands of years. Only the strongest of you could hope to put up a fight against us, and there aren't many of you."

Carter's eyes did not meet his. In fact, for a moment, Carter's grip on his crook might have been _too_ tight for all of theirs' sakes.

"You both are good with numbers, right? Hundreds of nomes? Carter, I have ten million people out there right now worshipping me as a god. Can you not feel it? The power I hold beneath my skin? Hell, if I wanted to I could snap my fingers and this nome would be dust, magic or not. _Every_ nome could be wiped off the map. Trust me when I say, I don't want things to head that direction. If I did I wouldn't have come over on my own two feet."

There was the matter of him bringing twelve or so heavily armed combattants to their doorstep, but thankfully, Sadie decided _not_ to bring that up.

"I came because I want us to work together. I don't want the other option to become necessary."

Carter's grim expression was the exact one Percy had hoped to avoid. He could feel it, Carter's disgust of Percy welling up. Percy had just become the next villain in Carter's life. There had been no avoiding it. As someone who had had trial after trial his whole life, he knew well what that was like.

For Carter's sake, Percy needed to turn that disgust into insurmountable fear.

Aura wasn't a tangible thing you could feel, see, or shape, but it existed in a metaphysical kind of way. Sure you couldn't use an 'aura' to attack someone, but it certainly existed. The freezing pressure whenever Kronos had so much as visited Percy in his dreams or the lowering of room temperature if he was even mentioned; the feeling of combustion Percy's skin would get when he got too close to a god, the petrifying fear a Lydian Drakon could instill if you looked into its eyes. The disturbance created by a being's aura represented its cumulative power, like a venomous snake with bright scales. It basically showed to others 'don't piss me off or I might just end your pitiful existence because I feel like it.'

Percy had yet to try mess with an aura before, but he was aware of the times that when he had felt particularly mad at something, it would feel like spontaneously combusting might just be the better option than facing his wrath. Leo had told him how his hairs had raised and he had been frozen in fear when Percy tackled him on the Argo II.

That was back then, but now Percy was being worshipped by as many people as had existed in all of ancient Greece, and had a primordial artifact on his head. One might've expected his effect on people to skyrocket, but Percy had been holding himself back. He hadn't known how to do this a month ago, but what had Zeus taught him if not how to disconnect himself from the divine energies around him, and as such, disconnect everything divine around him from himself.

After thinking for a few moments Percy decided that yes, he did in fact want to do this.

So, Percy let his shields down, and levelled a glare at Carter.

The effect was instantaneous. To Carter, the temperature in the room dropped, his hairs raised, and he felt frozen in place. It was an indescribable feeling, but it was one of inspired complete and utter fear. His pituitary gland was working overtime, and he began to sweat, his heart rate increasing. His fear skyrocketed to activate his fight or flight response, before blowing past it straight to hoping that if he didn't move, the terrifying thing wouldn't notice him, because if it did he was dead. Deciding after just a couple seconds that he had proven his point, Percy started hiding his aura, and dropped his glare.

Satisfied that he wouldn't do anything stupid in the immediate future, Percy stood up. "Well then, I guess I'll be on my way."

Percy stepped out the door and began to make his way towards the stairs before he felt a hand grab his arm.

He looked over his shoulder to see that it was Sadie, before letting her drag him to the balcony overlooking their pool.

They stood in silence for a moment, both of them leaning up against the railing. Percy opened his mouth to try to explain himself, but Sadie started speaking before he could.

"Don't even try to justify what you're doing. I know you probably don't have much choice, but we both know what you're doing isn't justified."

Percy sighed and looked down. He had hoped things might go better with Sadie.

"But." she put a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked up she was giving him a sad smile. "I know that sometimes we don't have a choice, and I don't want to lose a friend over something they have no control over."

Percy returned her smile. Maybe his friendship with Carter had to end over this conflict, but if it was possible to remain friends with Sadie, then he would hold onto that chance.

"Yeah," Percy looked down at the railing. "I don't want to lose friends over this whole thing either, but I'd rather lose a friend than people lose their lives."

They both knew he was lying, but she decided not to call him on it. "Well, for what it's worth, I'll always be here. Let's try and stay in contact, despite the whole world domination thing."

He nodded. "Yeah, that'd be nice. There'll always be a place for you in Manhattan."

She turned towards him. "So how's Annabeth? I see a lot of you going around, but I haven't exactly seen Annabeth during all this."

"I guess that's a failure on my part then. She was kinda supposed to be frontrunning this whole thing's PR, but she's been too tied down. She's kinda stressed, being the perfectionist she is she won't rest until everything's set up exactly as it is in her vision."

Sadie let out a small laugh. "Yeah, that does sound like her."

Percy and Sadie talked on the balcony for hours, until Nyx had made herself welcome in the sky and Sadie began to grow tired. Percy hadn't realized until now how much he missed having conversations which didn't include deciding the fate of the planet.

He just felt bad for the escorts he had brought which had to stand rigidly outside for hours on end.

* * *

 _ **The Twenty Sixth of May**_

 _ **Twenty Days A.B.M**_

Percy woke up late the next day. He had stayed up relatively late speaking with Sadie, and decided on a whim that he would get a full eight hours of sleep that night.

When he woke up Annabeth was already gone, and Nico was standing outside his door as always. Deciding he'd take today relatively easy, he ordered Nico inside to get off his feet before taking an extra long shower and making himself an actual breakfast with his incredibly limited culinary expertise.

Feeling more refreshed than he had in weeks, Percy decided to take a day to finally train himself again. He was well aware that he was more than a match for any mortal force without trying at this point, but he didn't want to fall into the habit of letting himself stagnate.

And so, he and Nico spent that morning on his personal training floor of the Empire State Building, going at it with swords with their incredibly enhanced strength and reflexes, and then dropping their weapons and starting to brawl bare handed, something they hadn't done yet.

After Nico was tired of getting beaten up they took a seat on the floor and began to practice with their powers. Percy knew Nico was more or less satisfied with his control over shadows and wanted to focus on the undead aspect of his abilities, and Percy was more than satisfied by his almost absolute control over liquids, only enhanced by Hydros' crown. And because of that, his abilities as the son of the Storm-Bringer had also been enhanced, as storms were mostly just water vapor making a fuss anyway.

He decided to concentrate on his abilities as the son of the Earth-Shaker.

The whole morning Percy focused on creating different levels of earthquakes across the eastern seaboard. Nothing deadly, but enough to exercise his control over them. Whenever he decided he really wanted to let loose, he let an earthquake hit the middle of the Atlantic somewhere. Sure, it would cause a tsunami somewhere, but Percy would just force that water back into the sea before it hit anyone.

He would have let an earthquake hit the north pole or the middle of the pacific or some such thing, but it wasn't possible just yet. While he was nigh omnipotent when it came to liquids mostly because of the crown on his head, he was still far from that level for earthquakes.

After a few hours of throwing around divine power which could wipe countries off the map like it was snow in February, Percy and Nico decided to call it quits and go deal with whatever they needed to deal with for the day.

"Oh," Percy remembered, catching himself before Nico shadow-travelled away. "That piece of the sword of Erebus Sasha was talking about. She should have an approximate location by now. Talk to her, and get that sword to me."

Nico stood straighter before nodding. He hadn't been present for Percy's meeting with Sasha, but he had heard the whole thing. He had a limited capacity for understanding things, he was only (partly) human, afterall, so he couldn't be aware of what was happening through _every_ shadow on the planet, but he always kept his senses up around Percy, and as such was privy to conversations he had.

And with that, he shadow travelled away.

* * *

Most of the rest of his day was spent in Annabeth's office, discussing the structure of their new government system. As much as Percy wanted to leave _everything_ to Annabeth, the entire structure of their government was big enough of a deal that Percy felt obliged to be involved in the process, even if he had little to add personally.

The structure they would use for their military also came up in discussion, and it was decided that they would use the United States chain of command. They were the largest military force in the world after all, and it would be rather easy to integrate their command structure from the very beginning onwards, since they would be the first to be integrated into their new empire. The only distinguishable difference being that Percy would be assigning a military commander in chief.

Who that would be, Percy didn't know yet. Darlton has proven himself competent so far, but Percy wasn't exactly ready to trust him with the soon-to-be largest military force on the planet.

It was early evening by the time Percy had a chance to leave the Empire State Building, and by that time he was famished. Normally, he'd just get something from the cabinet the staff at the Empire State kept stocked, or ask for something from one of the staff there, who would hurry to fulfill his order.

Today though, he felt like going into the city to get something to eat. So naturally, he invited Annabeth and Nico along.

Fifteen minutes later saw them all sitting outside a small restaurant in midtown Manhattan, relaxing with soft drinks and waiting on the old man who ran the small restaurant to bring out burgers.

They made quite the scene on the sidewalk. His guard had advised him to sit inside for his security, but Percy wasn't all that concerned and wanted some fresh air. So of course they sat outside.

His guard had created a perimeter around him through which nobody was allowed to walk. Percy had decided to let those who were already eating here finish their meals though. It would've been rude to interrupt them.

"Ah, your majesty," The frail old man who owned the restaurant approached their table the same way one would approach a sleeping dragon. "My apologies, your meal may be slightly late. There was a problem with the grill. If there is anything I can do to make up for it, please, let me know."

Percy waved it off with a chuckle. "Don't worry, we're in no rush. Take your time."

Their presence had attracted quite a crowd, and hundreds of people stood anxiously outside the perimeter of guards. Taking pictures, staring, speaking quietly. A family was loudly murmuring about the idea that their new ruler was sitting just a few feet from them.

They sat and talked and laughed and had fun until the sun was almost below the horizon. Between tonight and his conversation with Sadie the previous night, Percy was feeling downright pleasant. There was still the lingering sadness and anger from the hand he and his friends had been dealt, but Percy was in a good mood for the first time in a very long time. He decided to cherish these moments.

After all, tomorrow he would go back to work, and he didn't know the next time he'd get an opportunity to relax with his best friend and beautiful girlfriend.

* * *

 _ **The Twenty Seventh of May**_

 _ **Twenty One Days A.B.M**_

Percy woke bright and early the next day at just about four in the morning. It was a bit early, but like the previous day he decided to take his time with his morning routine, and for the first time since they had taken Manhattan, forego his armor and just wander about with the usual t-shirt and jeans he wore underneath. He would need to put it back on for the speech to reinforce that whole 'warrior-king' image, but for now he could go sans the armor.

Today was the day they would roll out their new system. He was recalling most of his high command from Brooklyn back to the Empire State Building and announcing the opening of elections. Along with that a full version of their 'constitution' would be printed and distributed. It took the entire constitutional convention 116 days to write the United States Constitution. It took Annabeth a bit under a week.

Of course, it was hardly a work of art. It had borrowed a _lot_ from previous documents such as the US Constitution and Magna Carta, and it was a lot shorter than the US's Constitution. After all, their citizens had far fewer rights.

But all the same, the demands of the gods were simply ridiculous. Hopefully once this new system was laid out most of the work would basically do itself. He knew it wouldn't be _easy_ being the emperor of all this, but at least he and Annabeth wouldn't have to do everything by themselves anymore.

When Percy stepped out of his room a bit before five that morning he found Nico already there, and Percy found himself wondering if he ever slept.

"I have it." Nico greeted him.

Percy raised an eyebrow and extended a hand.

A moment later Nico had laid about a foot of dark black metal in Percy's hand. It looked like the last third of a king's sword reminiscent of Lionheart or Solomon. The blade had two triangular tips on each side which tapered down into the point at the end of the sword.

As it rested in his hand, Percy could feel it sucking at his soul ever so slightly. His hand felt colder, like the warmth was being sucked out of it by sheer proximity. Essentially, it just seemed like stygian iron to him. He could, though it was faint, sense an enchantment of a sorts on it. Perhaps a bit more powerful than the enchantment on something like Annabeth's Yankees cap. All in all nothing to scoff at, but nothing game changing either. But Percy knew better.

"How powerful is it, really?"

"You said your crown is powerful just by virtue of being near Hydros so often, right? Well, I think this is more than that. It feels enchanted. _Heavily._ It might be nothing to a primordial, but honestly the only thing I can think of which is even close to as powerful is my father's sword."

Percy nodded. "Good. I'll be taking a trip to Atlantis, then. I'll have the master smiths there melt it down and forge it into your sword. Or..." he smirked. "Do you think we could push our luck and get Hephaestus to smelt it?"

Nico, though for a moment, weighing the blade in his hands, before shaking his head. "I doubt even Greek fire could smelt that. Hell, my guess is the master bolt wouldn't scratch it. That thing's indestructible as far as I can tell. I wouldn't try it."

Percy blinked. "Well. Something broke it."

He'd rather not think about what being had that kind of power.

"The remaining part of the sword looks to still be in excellent condition, though. We can always have them forge a sword around it. This thing is too powerful to just leave on the side. So what do you think, cyclops or Heph?"

"I wouldn't push our luck. Go with the cyclopes. Hell, if you can find an Elder Cyclops or two you could probably make something on the level of a big three's symbol of power with how much power we've accrued so far."

Percy raised an eyebrow at that. It wasn't a bad idea, but he didn't even know where to start looking for an Elder Cyclops. "You happen to know where any of em happen to be hanging around?" he asked.

Nico shrugged. "I don't, but Briaries probably does. They were siblings and practically grew up together. If anyone knows where they are, it'd be Briaries. Plus, he owes you more than a couple favors, so I'm sure he'd be willing to give us the information he has."

Percy nodded. It looked like he would be heading to Atlantis to pay a visit to his family sometime soon.

Percy handed the end of the sword to Nico. "You should hang on to this until I'm ready to have it forged. Do me a favor and stop by the command room in Brooklyn in about an hour to call command staff back to the Empire State."

Nico nodded. "So, what's the agenda for today?" he asked.

Percy groaned.

* * *

Two hours later, Percy was sitting at a conference table with Annabeth and a dozen of her more prominent aides. Those that specialized in law, agriculture, governance philosophy, and basically everyone they could find that had a very deep knowledge of a specific subject related to governing a nation. They had begun to write—or in most cases steal from the US—dozens of laws to implement before the upper house was so much as formed. Right now most laws were at the discretion of the police in the city, which was a… _less than ideal_ stopgap solution, but was more or less working so far.

They even had the former secretary of transportation at the table, and one of the former governors of the state of New York. Of course, they undoubtedly had far more important people in New York. Billionaires, former secretaries of state, Hades probably a few _current_ members of the cabinet, generals, etc. But Percy had no use for those who wouldn't volunteer their services.

He knew that soon enough, more and more influential people would see that his empire was here to stay and attempt to weasel into a position of power. But to many for now, they were just an extraordinarily successful terrorist group which was occupying most of New York City.

Percy was listening to their expert on power infrastructure and production argue with their expert on education about which buildings should be prioritized in the case of a power outage.

He was about ready to up and leave Annabeth to her fate when a major walked up to a few feet away from the table and stood at attention.

"Report," Percy interrupted the bickering bureaucrats, causing the table to go instantly silent.

The major took a single step forward and gave a crisp salute. "Your Majesty. Your command staff awaits your arrival."

Percy nodded. "Dismissed."

The major dropped his salute, took one step back, turned a 180 on his heel, and promptly headed to the elevator.

Percy stood and addressed the table. "I'm going to attend to military matters. You have—" Percy checked his shield watch "—six hours to finish this up and have it ready for the public."

Someone at the table gave an involuntary laugh and stood up. Percy didn't remember who he was, but he thought it had something to do with paper. "Your majesty. You're asking us to set most of the foundation of a global superpower in a few hours. It's not enough time to-"

"It's the time you have." Percy cut him off with a glare. "Now make it work, or she will." he gestured to Annabeth with a nod.

She stood up with him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll handle things here, you go take care of the military." Percy nodded, before gesturing to two of his guards to stay here with her. He had no idea when things might get heated, and having some heavily armed men with all of the authority of the emperor behind her might help.

With that, Percy began to move to the elevator, the dozen or so other men he had which had taken up positions around the table and the room forming up around him.

* * *

Percy sat down at the head of the command planning table, followed shortly by his high command. "Is everyone here?" he asked.

There was a small moment of silence as everyone adjusted to seeing him without his armor.

Darlton was the one to answer him. "Lieutenant Colonel Ferraro has been put in charge of the forces which have remained in Brooklyn while Major McGraw did not arrive at headquarters this morning. Lord di Angelo has told us not to worry and that he is well aware of the whereabouts of the major. Otherwise, all of the command is here, sir, as well as a representative from the Vanguard as you requested."

Percy nodded. "Good. Do make sure to arrange a replacement for the Major," he told him. A few of his staff shifted uncomfortably at the insinuation.

"Today, we'll be rolling out the new structure of our government," he continued "This includes our military organization. We'll be transitioning entirely to the structure you are all most familiar with, that being the US military. As of right now, I'm promoting Colonel Darlton to General of the Army and naming him chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." He nodded at Darlton.

"For now the position of Commander in Chief will be left vacant. Darlton will report directly to me until further notice. You are responsible for the organization of my military."

"I will not fail you your majesty!"

"I have no doubt of that. The vanguard is being moved outside of the structure of the military and being renamed to the royal guard. All demigods are discharged so that they may fill the house of lords in the upper house."

Clarisse didn't comment.

"Tomorrow we march on Washington. I want every soldier we have ready to mobilize in twenty four hours. The US chain of command shall be folded into our own, and those not immediately willing will be discharged. Those in this room, however..." he looked into the eyes of each of those at the table. "...Have proven themselves loyal, and I plan on rewarding your loyalty well. I expect a more or less peaceful capitulation after tomorrow, but that doesn't mean things will move smoothly. There will be vacancies for those that don't follow and you will fill those new high-level roles. Prepare to replace resigning officers and collapse entire divisions due to a lack of active duty men. There will likely be small scale rebellions across the US as well. It is integral to the continued success of the empire that these are dealt with, as well as the gaps in our command structure in a short amount of time so that we may continue expanding. Any questions?"

He sensed a million questions and concerns but the room remained silent and still.

"Good. See to it that this transition is as smooth as possible." He stood up, immediately followed by everyone at the table. "Good luck." He sent them a smile, before taking his leave.

* * *

Percy tuned out the words coming out of Annabeth's mouth. He had heard them a dozen times already, as the past few nights with Annabeth had been filled with revisions and revisions. He was more or less here just to look pretty.

He stood with his arms crossed behind Annabeth. His crown rested atop his head, and he was in full battle regalia. He even had Riptide out in an open sheath on his hip, and his shield out on his back.

They were standing in a studio with a dozen or so odd telecom experts, all bustling over cameras, microphones, and auto queues.

Nico stood just behind him to his right, just barely visible to the camera in the shadows of the room. Percy was standing on a small raised platform to give the impression he was imposing while still giving the impression that Annabeth, who was right in front of him, was relatable. At first he had protested, his pride not wanting him to stand on some platform to look taller, but their experts had insisted. Percy decided they knew what they were doing, and acceded.

Annabeth was giving the speech about the _true_ formation of a new empire in his name, with a constitution and laws and public representation and such.

Percy just wanted to get this over with so he could make sure there were no huge problems, and then shadow travel to Washington. He hadn't made any progress in a few days, and he knew the gods, specifically Zeus, would start to get restless. He would need to make it up to them by completely integrating America soon. He hoped he wouldn't have to get his hands too bloody but knew that was a pipe dream at best.

Percy's attention was drawn back to reality when the cameras stopped rolling and Annabeth let out a loud sigh.

"Go well?" he asked.

She glared at him. "Were you dozing off again? You were here, Seaweed Brain."

He shrugged, noting the many of the aides around the room were making themselves look busy at the informal, almost insulting way she referred to him. He wondered what type of image it cast upon him, being called by such a name. "Sue me, I've heard the speech already a dozen times. I already knew what you were going to say, why would I listen?"

She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder. "Whatever, just help me manage this whole thing for a couple days."

She passed it off as a casual request, but in reality she was still desperate to delay his crusade to Washington for as long as possible.

He chuckled. "I'll stay in Manhattan overnight, but assuming nothing goes horribly wrong tomorrow I'll be heading to Washington," he said before pausing. "Oh, and I need to head to Atlantis tonight, my father asked me to visit him for some reason."

He felt bad for lying to Annabeth. Horrible, really. They had been through so much, from his first quest to the pits of hell and to the hectic mess that was this war. But it was necessary to protect her, he told himself. He knew that if he was ever discovered to be hoarding primordial artifacts, Zeus would get worried he would overthrow him and kill him and everyone involved in a heartbeat.

Sasha and Nico were already dead in the event of Zeus discovering so much as the true power of the crown he had given Percy. He didn't want Annabeth to join that list.

She looked disappointed, but nodded. "I'll see you when you get back, then."

He smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Don't wait up. Enjoy running the country for the night." He winked, before walking away from the girl swearing her revenge on him.

Nico followed him out into the hallway where he began walking towards the elevator.

"Want a lift to the shore?" he asked.

Percy shrugged. "Sure. But first, hand me the blade real quick."

Nico summoned the said blade to his hand and handed it over.

"I almost forgot, I need to disconnect this thing," he grunted before _yanking_ to disconnect the blade, and almost losing his balance before being caught by Nico. "There, now it should be hidden. That was a bit easier than last time." He laughed, trying to ignore the spots floating in his eyes.

He handed the blade back to Nico. "Hang on to this for a bit longer, would'ya?"

Nico nodded, taking it and once again sending it away to wherever it was he kept things.

A second later Percy was the one being shadow travelled, and they appeared on the shore on the northern tip of Long Island.

"Good luck," Nico told him, before teleporting away. Atlantis was the one place Nico couldn't follow him to. Technically he could still keep an eye on him, after all basically the entire seafloor was entirely covered in 'shadows'. But he couldn't breath underwater, and even if he could the pressure would kill him once Percy got a hundredth of the way to Atlantis.

Putting his thoughts behind him, Percy capped Riptide and transformed his shield back into his watch. There was no reason to have them out anymore. Then, Percy tapped his crown, turning it into a charm on his necklace.

Percy dived into the water and started making his way to Atlantis. It took him about an hour, even moving at mach speed. On the way a few dolphins and whales and the odd shark or fish decided to swim alongside him. He slowed down for a bit to give them company before continuing along.

When he finally saw a luminescent navy glow coming from the ocean floor in front of him he knew he had reached Atlantis. The first place he decided to head was his father's palace. He knew his dad would know something was up if he came to Atlantis and didn't visit him.

Percy let his feet hit the ground just before the palace gates. The guards instantly recognized him and called for the gate to be opened before bowing.

"Welcome home, my prince," one of the guards greeted him.

Percy shot him a smile and waved back before continuing through the gates. A couple of minutes of walking saw him entering the main building in the palace, where his father lived and held court.

When Percy walked in, it was clearly during one of those very moments. The long table in front of his father was filled to the brim with dolphins, mermen, and an assortment of various other different sea creatures he was ashamed to not be able to name. Percy, not wanting to interrupt, leaned up against a wall near where he came in, observing his father holding court.

Triton sat directly to his right, and seemed to take care of the more arduous issues. Not for the first time, Percy was glad he wasn't in Triton's position.

His father had, of course, noticed him immediately. It only took a few minutes for Poseidon to tell Triton to take over for him, and walk out of the room, gesturing for Percy to follow him.

The action did not go unnoticed by many at the table, and Percy received a chorus of different greetings. Percy just waved back.

Percy caught up with his father in the hallway leading out of the room.

"Percy," he acknowledged with a crinkled smile. Percy could tell he was genuinely glad to see him.

"Dad." Percy smiled back.

It was the first time he had talked to his father one on one in person in a very long time. Since the end of the titan war, actually, and Percy was glad to have the chance.

They spent a few seconds in silence before they reached Poseidon's personal office. It was a small thing, smaller than Percy's office at the Empire State, in fact. Percy was surprised, for the ruler of two thirds of the Earth he certainly had a modest office.

Poseidon sat in a cushioned chair in the corner, before gesturing for him to sit in the other. There sat a coffee table in between them, and Poseidon put up his feet.

"So, my son, what can I do for you?" he asked, two glasses of whiskey appearing in his hands. He offered one to Percy, and he decided to take it.

After taking a long sip, Percy responded, "Nothing, really. I wanted to pay a visit to Tyson and Briaries, and thought I would see how you were doing." Percy smiled back easily.

It was clear Poseidon didn't entirely believe this was a social visit, but luckily, Poseidon decided not to press. Instead, he leaned forward.

"Well, whatever you're doing that has you in this area, just be careful. You live on the level of gods now. We may artificially make you bow to us and refer to us with respect, but you are now one of us in every way that matters. The only thing that separates you from me is one bite of an apple, remember that." Poseidon met his eyes. "You have as many worshippers as the most powerful of us now. I actually think my younger brother is getting jealous. That jealousy can turn into fear very quickly, and when Zeus fears something he does not take kindly to it. Remember that, son."

Percy nodded, though remaining silent. Apparently finished with his lecture, Poseidon leaned back. "Now," he said, smiling. "Tell me, how's your mother?"

Percy tensed slightly. He wasn't entirely over what his father just said, but he would have to digest it later. "I… Haven't actually had a chance to visit her, since this whole thing started. I had Nico make sure she would be safe when we initially struck, but otherwise I haven't seen her," he admitted.

Poseidon frowned. "Hmmm, I see. I know the burdens of running a kingdom more than most, but keep those you love close to you. You may not have them forever, or long."

Percy shook his head. "I'm too powerful for that now. I'm powerful enough to stop whatever comes for us, dad. It's part of the reason I'm doing this. Nobody else I care about will be hurt."

Poseidon let out a resigned sigh. "Very well, but try and spend some time with your mother. For her sake, if not yours."

Percy nodded. He did have to admit he'd kind of been neglecting his mom. Everything just happened so quick it was hard to find time for anything.

They spent a few moments in an awkward silence before Poseidon spoke up.

"Oh, I have also meant to give this to you for some time." He got up, and walked over to a chest near his desk where he pulled out two items. Both were very similar, staff type objects. One was made out of a platinum silver that reflected all the light in the room. Near it's tip it had a decoration which was engraved with jewels, mostly blues, blacks, and greens. It was about the size of a small mace. You could hold it in one hand, and it looked like about the perfect size to go seal clubbing.

The other staff was made out of a metallic navy material, almost like a navy tinted chrome. Just like the other one, it had a club-like end, with decorations all over it. This one was thicker, and a bit longer.

"This—" Poseidon handed him the shorter staff. "—Is a scepter. I admit, it might be an out-of-fashion practice these days, but during my day, being granted the authority to hold one of these amounted to a great signature of trust and respect."

Percy observed the scepter, not understanding.

Poseidon continued. "This is a gift not for you to hold, but for you to bestow. For anyone who wields this is to be treated as you, when you are not around. Your second, perhaps. Whomever you trust or value that you wish to grant your authority without you needing to be by their side at all times."

The scepter was cool to the touch, and glowed with the power of the seas behind it. It wasn't all that powerful, and it was certainly nothing that would make a difference to Percy with his current control over water, but he could feel the authority that came with holding it.

"After all, I heard that Zeus gave you your crown, and I know Athena has volunteered to give you your throne room, and Hera the throne. I thought of giving you your scepter."

Percy blinked. "Thanks, really. I think this will definitely come in handy. It's not something I had thought of…" Percy paused for a moment before looking up. "And really, Athena? Is it really a good idea for her to design my throne room?"

Poseidon gave a small smile at that. "Her and I may have our feuds, yes, but I trust her ability and wisdom to distinguish between the two of us." Poseidon paused, with a slow chuckle, in self-amusement. "I also understand she has accrued a certain respect for you. I think all will be fine, you can trust the gods this time. After all, your success corresponds to _their_ success. The other Olympians know well that if any were to interfere with your work, it would only earn them my brother's wrath. He's already invested so much into you, teaching you abilities we haven't bestowed knowledge of in a millennia."

Percy rubbed his neck. It looked like he wasn't as careful with that as he had thought.

Poseidon laughed and clapped him on the back. "Do not worry, it's only natural. I'm just surprised it was Zeus of all people that wanted to have _less_ control over you. Anyway, I'm getting off track. There's a powerful enchantment on your scepter, not unlike Anaklusmos. If you will it, it will return to your hands immediately. After all, it would not do if someone had your scepter without your permission, hm?"

Percy nodded, it was a fair point. If someone got their hands on it without his permission he didn't even want to think about what damage they could do in his name.

"And this," Poseidon said, handing him the other scepter. "Is mine."

Percy took it into his left hand, and felt a very similar sensation to when he grabbed his own scepter as the authority of the oceans and all its domains flooded over him.

Percy nodded, and handed the scepter back to Poseidon, but Poseidon didn't reach out to take it.

"You misunderstand me," he said thoughtfully. "This is _my_ scepter."

Percy stared at his father for a moment, his legs feeling weak. He itched to protest, but his father had already held up his hand in response.

"I can think of nobody more worthy of it than you, my son. Triton would more than likely abuse the power, loathe as I am to admit it, and he is near me constantly anyway. I will not have the time to constantly stamp my approval on anything you need in the future. Take it for my sake, if nothing else," he pleaded.

Letting out a sigh of resignation, Percy just nodded.

Poseidon himself nodded, but now his eyes looked distant, like he was hearing conversations elsewhere. "Now, I best be returning to my court before Triton orders a statue of himself to be erected." He smiled slightly. "But return whenever you like, this is your home, and the people are always glad to see you. There's been a festival in your honor every time you've arrived, not that you've ever stayed around long enough to see one," he teased.

Percy blushed and rubbed his neck abashedly. He forgot what it was like to be embarrassed recently, but he was being reminded more and more as the seconds ticked by.

"Oh, and and lastly" Poseidon tapped the tip of his own scepter, causing it to disappear, before Percy looked down at his necklace to find a small charm in the shape of a scepter sitting there. It was 3d, unlike his crown, but it matched it all the same. "Both of the scepters are enchanted to shrink onto your necklace, like your crown. I didn't think you'd prefer to carry that thing around with you everywhere, so I took some liberties. Now, I really must be going. Tell your mother, Tyson, and Briaries I said hello," he said, walking out the door back to his court with a wave.

Percy tapped his own scepter on it's tip, turning it into a charm before he stepped out of the room and began heading towards a side exit, making his way towards the forge district where he knew he would find Briaries and Tyson.

After arriving at the district and asking around, he was directed towards Tyson's forge. He decided to see his little brother before talking to Briaries, so that if any of the elder cyclopes happened to be in a particularly easy area to get to he could go straight away.

A few minutes later Percy walked into Tyson's forge to see the young cyclops hammering out a gauntlet of some kind. The loud clanging of the hammer masked his footsteps, right up until he stopped to reheat the metal in Greek fire, and Percy cleared his throat.

Tyson looked behind him to see who was in his forge, before his big eye settled on Percy and he lunged forward for a hug.

"BIG BROTHER!" he yelled, probably waking up some people in the city.

Percy let himself be grabbed into a bear hug, and smiled when Tyson put him down. "Heya big guy. I was in the area, and thought I'd pay you a visit."

Tyson had a big grin on his face. "Yes, brother! Good to see you. But cannot stop working. No, no stop. Very important order, dad says. For very important people." His expression dropped, and he turned back to heating the metal.

Percy frowned. He hoped he was just here at a bad time, and Tyson wasn't being overworked. "Alright, big guy. Good to see ya anyway. And dad said hi."

Tyson brightened at that. "Tell dad I said hi too!"

"Will do big guy." Percy said as he left the forge. He didn't have the heart to tell him he probably wouldn't see Poseidon on his way out.

His brief visit to his brother over with, Percy asked around some more for where Briaries was.

He was pointed to a spot just a few forges away. This forge was much bigger than the others, and taller as well. He knew it was to accommodate Briaries's increased height, even when compared to the other cyclopes.

Percy had to duck to avoid a hand filled with some kind of metal flying over his head, and subsequently backed up when three more came flying by him. The room was very loud, after all the equivalent of fifty cyclopes were working in here. This time, Percy had to shout to get his attention.

Eventually, Briaries noticed him, and turned towards Percy. Most of his hands kept working, but there was a very noticeable drop in noise from metal being hammered, and hands holding objects that could take his head off stopped zooming past him.

Briaries let out a large smile. "Young friend! How can I help you?" he greeted. A few dozen of his hands stopped what they were doing and made finger guns pointed at him.

Percy smiled at seeing the Hekatonkheire after so long. "Briaries," He greeted. "I was actually just stopping by at the request of my father, and had an idea. I thought if you were out there imprisoned, your cousins might be as well. Do you have any idea where any of the Elder Cyclopes are?"

All at once hands stopped working and froze, before Briaries sat down and started crying, multiple hands coming to wipe away his tears.

"Oh how could I forget! I am a horrible Hekatonkheire! Why did you rescue me, young friend. Why couldn't it have been anyone else? I forgot about my cousins. Only five thousand years, and I just forget!"

Percy stood back for a moment while Briaries collected himself. "Y-Yes. I heard K-Kampe talking about them. She said nobody would ever get to them. Even more dangerous than Alcatraz, she said. She said they were on the Isle of the Damned. And something about 'Helve Hinsides Havt'. I know I owe you much already, young friend, but please, I will give you everything I have if you can succeed where I failed and help my cousins."

Briaries sniffled again, more hands reaching up to wipe away his tears.

Percy committed the phrases to memory, and patted him on one of his arms. "Don't worry about it. I'd rescue them anyway. That's what friends are for, right?" he reassured.

Percy barely had any time to prepare before a dozen arms scooped him into a hug.

"Oh, thank you Percy, how will I ever repay you?"

After another minute of Briaries crying, hugging, and some awkward conversation, Percy made an excuse and left, being seen off by a hundred hands waving goodbye at him.

It was just after dark when Percy arrived on Long Island. The moment Percy stepped on to the beach Nico was there with a hand outstretched, waiting to return him to the Empire State Building.

Percy noticed with a burst of mirth that a little bit down the beach a young, naked couple were staring at him with wide eyes. He sent them a wink, before taking Nico's hand and being enveloped in shadow.

He reappeared in his bedroom to see Annabeth laying back on their bed, an exhausted look on her face. She was still in her normal clothes and was just staring up at the ceiling, so Percy assumed she had just gotten back from running the small nation and all the hassle that came with it.

He sat down on the bed next to her head as Nico melted back into the shadows.

"So," he asked with a teasing smile. "Have fun running the place today?"

She stretched out an arm and half heartedly hit him in the back. "Shut up," she mumbled.

Percy laughed, before reaching down and picking her up. "Come on, let's get you changed and go to bed."

She groaned and forced herself out of his hands, unceremoniously dropping to the floor on her feet. "I can undress myself, thank you very much."

"But wouldn't it be more fun if I helped?" he asked.

She glared at him, but there was no real heat behind it. She punched his arm, before walking over to her dresser.

"Is that a yes?"

She laughed that time, no longer able or willing to keep up her angry attitude. "Sure." She indulged him with a small smile, pulling her shirt over her head.

An hour later they laid in bed, her head on his chest as it always was, but Percy couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about where the Elder Cyclopes were located. Was it a dead end? Would he have to push his luck and ask Hephaestus anyway? Percy had tried feeling around for them, but had no idea where to begin. For one he couldn't feel everything on the planet at the same time, at least he couldn't actually register all of that information at once. After all, he wasn't a god. So where did he start looking? For all he knew, the Isle of the Damned was in Tartarus. In fact, Percy was pretty sure that's _exactly_ where it was. And he wasn't jumping back down there, Elder Cyclopes be damned.

But even if he _could_ sense everything at once, and it _was_ on Earth, how would he even distinguish between an Elder Cyclopes and just some regular cyclops? It was beginning to seem more and more impossible.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked.

He looked down into her grey eyes. Her beautiful, grey eyes. He lost himself in them for a moment before replying.

"I'm just trying to think of something. I got some hints to a location I need to find today, I just…don't know. I don't think I can find it."

"What were the hints?" she asked, her voice picking up at the promise of a puzzle to solve.

Percy mentally facepalmed. Of course he should ask Annabeth. If there's anybody that would know about some obscure island in Tartarus, it would be her.

"The location of the place is the Isle of the Damned. They also said that there was something about 'Helve Hinsides Havt'" Percy quoted.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "You mean Helvede hinsides havet? It's a book. It means Hell beyond the sea in English. It's about Devil's Island. Isle of the Damned is another term for Devil's Island as well. It was a French penal colony which fell out of use about a century ago. What's there?" she asked.

He shook his head. "The Elder Cyclopes, apparently. I stopped by to visit Briaries while I was in Atlantis, and he asked me to rescue his cousins," he told her.

She nodded. "Well, that's another chore for you to do, then. Just promise me you'll spend a day with me when this winds down. We've had no time to relax."

He smiled back at her and kissed her on the nose. "The second we settle in after I go to Washington I'll drop everything for a day. A day for just us, kay?"

Satisfied, she smiled and dropped her head back onto his chest. They both fell asleep in the other's arms.

* * *

 _ **The Twenty Eighth of May**_

 _ **Twenty Two Days A.B.M**_

Percy stood on an elevated stage overlooking the exactly three hundred armored soldiers before him. The demigods had all been dismissed, arranged replacements for themselves in leadership, and then went their separate ways. The vast majority either went to Camp Half-Blood or the Empire State Building to apply to be a member of the house of lords, though some had disappeared into the city to lead normal lives away from the chaos of the divine world. Percy let them. They deserved their rest.

Percy had written to New Rome with the upcoming development, that being that the US was about to be annexed. The pegasus would get to them before he even got to Washington, so he wasn't worried about them being caught unaware.

Finally deciding he was ready to speak to the waiting formation, Percy began.

"The men here are the best of the best of those who have volunteered their services. We will only _tolerate_ the best. To be standing with us today, you have shown skill, perseverance, dedication, and most importantly, loyalty, above that of your peers. Some of you may be dismissed. Some of you may be demoted. Know that in order to remain here, in this unit, you must be better than those who come before, and after you. You must seek to prove your loyalty to me if you wish to keep your position."

Percy took a moment to survey those before him. They stood stock still, chins up, perfectly at attention, despite his speech.

"You are no longer a part of the military. This unit is now my royal guard. You serve me, and me exclusively. If you are not prepared to lay down your lives to prove yourselves to me, this is not the place for you. Captain," he called.

"Yes, your majesty!" the guard standing at the very front left of the formation stepped forward.

"You now report solely to me. My protection is now your _only_ priority. You may disregard orders from those in my military."

"Yes, your majesty!" he called, stepping back into formation.

"Today, we will be marching on Washington," he continued. You could hear a pin drop. "There may be those of you who do not wish to serve me in such a capacity, or those who do not wish to march on your former homeland. Leave now and you will be free to go."

Nobody moved.

"Very well. Be relieved. You no longer have lives to lose, they belong to me."

As one, the three hundred men before him shouted back.

"Yes, your majesty!"

Percy let a small smile across his face at their enthusiasm.

"Good. Now, prepare to march on Washington, I will expect you all waiting for me here in ten minutes. Captain, with me. Dismissed."

There was a rapid flurry of movement as the soldiers fell out to make last minute battle preparations.

Percy walked to Carisse's old tent, shadowed by Nico, and followed by the new captain.

He walked in to see a rather Spartan room, not that he expected any different from Clarisse. A rather nice bottle of brandy did catch his eye though. He grabbed the bottle and poured himself a glass, sitting down in the singular chair at the small kitchen table.

Nico stood behind him, and the captain moved to attention before him.

"At ease," he waved him off. The captain switched to a parade rest position. "Who are you?" Percy simply asked.

"Andrew Beason, your majesty. I served in the United States Marine Corps for four years, and left the service as a sergeant."

Percy nodded. "Good enough for me. I know you're good, or Clarisse would have taken care of you, and I know you're loyal, or he would've taken care of you." He pointed a thumb back at Nico.

"You'll be taking orders mostly from him, and reporting anything of importance to him as well." He again gestured at Nico. "Anything else you can deal with yourself. You have a blank check and all of my authority behind you. Abuse of either of those things will result in an unpleasant end for you. And Nico _will_ find out." He stared Andrew in the eyes. "Any questions?"

"No, your majesty," he replied, but Percy could tell something was nagging at him. Perhaps something incredibly small, but Percy wanted him to have no reservations.

"You have a question. Ask it," Percy commanded.

"It's nothing your majest—"

"I told you to ask your question. I will not make a habit out of repeating myself to my subordinates."

He nodded quickly. "It's just that I thought your directive was to report directly to you, your majesty."

Percy nodded. He was right, it really was nothing, but he would assuage his question either way.

"Nico is an extension of my will, and as such I consider him an extension of myself. I would recommend you do the same," Percy told him.

Andrew nodded. "Yes, your majesty."

Damn, Percy was _already_ getting tired of that response.

But, Percy was satisfied for now. "Dismissed. Make sure your men are ready. I'll be joining you in..." he checked his watch. "About six and a half minutes. Oh, and do make sure nobody's too aggressive. As unlikely as it is we do _want_ a peaceful ending here."

He nodded, bowed, turned on his heel, and left.

Percy wouldn't mind going out there now and just waiting for them. But for _him_ to be waiting for _them_ would put much more pressure on them to be ready for him at exactly that moment. The emperor's soldiers awaited him, not the other way around. So because of that, Percy waited inside of Clarisse's tent in silence, nursing her glass of brandy instead of waiting outside where he could observe his men with his own eyes.

Sometimes the perks of being a ruler really backfired.

Percy waited six minutes before standing up and walking outside, Nico in tow.

The morning was silent, and his royal guard was back in formation as if they had never left.

Percy once again walked up to the stage which had been set up before the formation.

"Be vigilant. Today, as before, you make history," was his simple speech, before turning to Nico and nodding.

At once, they were all enveloped in shadow, and reappeared on the White House lawn.


End file.
